DaBaby offers second apology after homophobic comments
2 August 2021, 22:04
The Grammy-nominated performer said he was misinformed for his comments about HIV/Aids.
US rapper DaBaby has offered another apology after facing a heavy backlash over crude and homophobic remarks he made at a music festival.
The Grammy-nominated performer said he was misinformed for his comments about HIV/Aids, in a social media post a day after he was cut from Lollapalooza’s line-up in Chicago.
On Monday, New York City’s Governors Ball and Day N Vegas in Las Vegas each announced the rapper had been dropped from their line-ups.
Da Baby, whose real name is Jonathan Kirk, apologised to the LGBTQ+ community for his “hurtful and triggering” comments.
“Social media moves so fast that people want to demolish you before you even have the opportunity to grow, educate and learn from your mistakes,” he wrote.
“As a man who has had to make his own way from very difficult circumstances, having people I know publicly working against me – knowing that what I needed was education on these topics and guidance – has been challenging.”
It is the second time DaBaby has apologised following his remarks at Miami’s Rolling Loud Festival.
While on stage, he used crude language and asked attendees who were not gay men or people not affected by HIV or Aids to raise their mobile phone flashlights.
He then incorrectly said the disease would “make you die in two or three weeks”.
DaBaby’s remarks caused an immediate storm for the rapper, whose song Rockstar was one of the biggest hits last year. He was nominated for a Grammy for record of the year.
In recent days, several artists including Madonna, Questlove and Sir Elton John have denounced his remarks.
Dua Lipa, who collaborated with DaBaby on the popular remix of her song Levitating, said she was “surprised and horrified” by his comments.
