Rapper DaBaby is getting support from actor and television host Nick Cannon following his bizarre and misinformed rant about HIV and AIDS. As someone who faced his own controversy last year after making varying remarks on his podcast that many found offensive and anti-Semitic, Cannon said during a recent interview that the scandal surrounding the “Suge” rapper is a learning opportunity.
While talking to the hosts over at Power 105.1 “The Breakfast Club,” Charlamagne Tha God asked Cannon for his thoughts on the matter as far as the rapper losing several job opportunities and essentially being “canceled, and what advice he’d give the 29-year-old.
“First of all, I think not only in the Black community – and I’ve experienced it – but definitely just men a lot of times, we have that ego. We believe apologizing is weakness when it actually takes great strength to step up to anyone and say, ‘I was wrong,’ ” Cannon explained. He later went on to say, “I know Baby. And that’s a strong brother…. That man just lost his pops, his brother, all the things that he… and still to have that big smile that he has every day, knowing everything.”
As previously reported, Cannon issued a few apologies himself to the Jewish community after making a few questionable statements on his “Cannon’s Class” podcast. The 40-year-old later decided to briefly step back from his improv show “Wild ‘N Out” and his hosting gig at Power 106 morning radio.
Concerning DaBaby’s response to his backlash, Cannon said what he’s witnessing is “a fighter.” He continued, “We’ve seen his back against the wall. He’s swinging. He’s swinging just so he could get out of it. We all have to accept emotions.” Cannon added that “to say ‘I’m sorry,’ that’s a self-proclamation. To apologize is an action. And to actually repent or atone is actually the next level because now you’re trying to understand, there’s education involved with that, there’s actually community involved with that.”
The “Love Don’t Cost a Thing” star also wanted to “challenge all these people who want to cancel somebody, and even specifically in DaBaby’s situation, let’s use this as an opportunity for education.” He also disagreed with festivals dropping the rapper from their lineup. In the days that followed, Lollapalooza, KS 107.5 Summer Jam, Parklife, iHeartRadio Music Festival, and many more all cut ties with the “ROCKSTAR” rapper.
“Just because it’s like, ‘What statement is that making other than you’re just following?’ It’s group think. It’s a mentality; it’s mob rule,” he said. “Mob rule has never worked in any society, to where it’s like, ‘Oh well they did it! So we gotta do it,’ ” he said. “Even when I watched my process, where people I rocked with was like, ‘Man, well, they did, so we gotta follow suit.’ “
He continued, “This is a moment where we should all gather around DaBaby and embrace him, because if we can do that, watch how many mentalities will change in the hip-hop community.”
Check out the full interview down below.
