TOPLINE: After being removed from three major music festivals in just over 24 hours, American rapper DaBaby issued another apology Monday to individuals impacted by the HIV/AIDS epidemic and the LGBTQ community in response to homophobic remarks he made during a recent performance.
KEY FACTS
In an Instagram post Monday afternoon, DaBaby expressed regret for his “hurtful and triggering comments” and apologized for his “misinformed comments about HIV/AIDS.”
He explained that he now recognizes the importance of “guidance” and “education on these topics.”
DaBaby, 29, thanked people that “came to me with kindness” and “reached out to me privately to offer wisdom, education, and resources.”
KEY BACKGROUND:
During his performance at the Rolling Loud music festival in Miami in late July, DaBaby, whose real name is Jonathan Kirk, made misinformed comments about HIV, asking the audience to put their cell phone flashlights in the air if they “didn’t show up today with HIV/AIDS or any of them deadly sexually transmitted diseases that will make you die in two to three weeks.” He later made another vulgar remark disparaging the LGBTQ community at the same show. DaShawn Usher, GLAAD’s Associate Director of Communities of Color, noted that DaBaby’s rhetoric is “inaccurate, hurtful, and harmful to the LGBTQ community and the estimated 1.2 million Americans living with HIV.” Usher added it is “critical that DaBaby and his fans learn that people living with HIV today, when on effective treatment, lead long and healthy lives.” Last Tuesday. Organizers for Chicago’s Lollapalooza event announced Sunday morning, hours before he was set to take the stage, that DaBaby had been dropped from the lineup. On Monday, promoters from New York’s Governors Ball show and November’s “Day N Vegas” event in Nevada also dropped DaBaby.
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SURPRISING FACT:
DaBaby issued an initial apology on Twitter, acknowledging that what he said was “insensitive” and that anybody who had been affected by AIDS/HIV “got the right to be upset” but claimed he had “no intentions on offending anybody,” adding “y’all digested that wrong.” The following day, DaBady seemed to backtrack from the apology, arguing in an Instagram post that a “substantial amount of people refuse to understand” logic. He also released a music video last Wednesday for his song “Giving What It’s Supposed to Give.” The ending credits to the video feature a written message in rainbow letters stating: “My apologies for being me the same way you want the freedom to be you.” The song itself featured lyrics offensive to individuals impacted by HIV/AIDS.
TANGENT:
As news of DaBaby’s remarks spread on social media, several music-industry celebrities lashed out at the rapper. “If you’re going to make hateful remarks to the LGBTQ+ community about HIV/AIDS then know your facts,” wrote Madonna in an Instagram post. Elton John tweeted that he was “shocked to read about the HIV misinformation and homophobic statements” made by DaBaby, adding that such comments “fuel stigma and discrimination and is the opposite of what our world needs to fight the AIDS epidemic.”
CRUCIAL QUOTE:
“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,” DaBaby wrote Monday.
BIG NUMBER:
37.7 million. That’s the estimated number of people worldwide living with HIV in 2020, according to UNAIDS, a co-sponsored joint program under the umbrella of the United Nations. AIDS-related illnesses claimed the lives of 680,000 people last year.
By Tommy Beer, Forbes Staff
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