DaBaby is trying to get himself out of the mess he got himself into at the Rolling Loud music festival on Sunday night. The rapper was feeling a little too free on stage when he decided to go on a hateful homophobic rant. A clip of the incident quickly went viral with many ready to cancel the rapper. DaBaby stood his ground against the onslaught of hate as celebs like Dua Lipa, Demi Lovato, and Elton John condemned his comments. However, once sponsors began distancing themselves from the rapper, an apology came soon after. TW: Homophobia.
During his set, DaBaby asked festival-goers in Miami to shine their cellphone flashlights in the air if they “didn’t show up today with HIV/AIDS, any of the deadly sexually transmitted diseases that will make you die in two to three weeks.” The rapper made other comments about “ladies” and “fellas” that were misogynistic and degrading. The clip eventually made its way over to Elton John, an openly gay, HIV advocate who shared 5 tweets that have since gone viral. “We‘ve been shocked to read about the HIV misinformation and homophobic statements made at a recent DaBaby show. This fuels stigma and discrimination and is the opposite of what our world needs to fight the AIDS epidemic,” the singer wrote along with an infographic from the Elton John foundation that said, “HIV misinformation have no place in the music industry. We must break down the stigma around HIV and not spread it. As musicians, it’s our job to bring people together.”
The rapper is featured in Dua Lipa’s hit song “Levitating” so she quickly addressed the situation in an Instagram story writing she was “surprised and horrified” by his comments. “I really don’t recognize this as the person I worked with. “I know my fans know where my heart lies and that I stand 100% with the LGTBQ community,” she wrote. “We need to come together to fight the stigma and ignorance around HIV/AIDS.” Dua Lipa has since unfollowed the rapper on Instagram.
Lovato, a nonbinary LGBTQ+ advocate posted a series of photos about the incident and encouraged fans to listen to the original version of Dua Lipa’s song, without DaBaby. “Hot people listen to the original version of levitating” they wrote, tagging the rapper.
Then, boohooMAN cut ties with DaBaby, less than two months since they started his clothing line
After trying to steer the conversations in many different directions, the rapper apologized Tuesday night for his “insensitive comments.” “Anybody who done ever been affected by AIDS/HIV y’all got the right to be upset, what I said was insensitive even though I have no intentions on offending anybody,” DaBaby tweeted Tuesday. “So my apologies ... But the LGBT community... I ain’t trippin on y’all, do you. y’all business is y’all business.”
