DaBaby has removed his apology issued to the LGBTQ community from his Instagram account. The statement, which appeared on Aug. 2, is no longer displayed on the rapper’s grid feed leaving many to wonder if this means he regrets the mea culpa or never meant it at all.
The statement began with the “Suge” rapper requesting grace and adding he had been offered education, wisdom, and guidance. “I want to apologize to the LGBTQ+ community for the hurtful and triggering comments I made. Again, I apologize for my misinformed comments about HIV/AIDS and I know education on this is important. Love to all. God bless,” he closed out the post.
His initial offensive comments were made during his Rolling Loud performance last month in Miami. DaBaby took to the stage and requested his audience put their cell phone lights in the air “if you didn’t show up today with HIV, AIDS, or any of them deadly sexually transmitted diseases that’ll make you die in two to three weeks,” and continued, “Fellas, if you ain’t sucking di*k in the parking lot, put your cellphone lighter up.”
DaBaby was immediately criticized for being homophobic and spreading misinformation about HIV and AIDS. Initially, after the performance, he did not apologize, continuing to double down on his words, dismissing his rhetoric as harmless banter.
Soon after, the North Carolina native gave what many perceived as a semi-sorry, saying, “Anybody who done ever been effected 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. So my apologies [prayer hands emoji],” he wrote, adding, “But the LGBT community… I ain’t trippin on y’all, do you. y’all business is y’all business.”
Then he released a song with an accompanying music video “Giving What It’s Supposed To Give” where he closes with rainbow-colored wording that states “Don’t Fight Hate With Hate. My apologies for being me the same way you want the freedom to be you.” The rapper insisted the video was completed before his statements at Rolling Loud.
Still, after a few days of his social media antics and criticism from fellow artists like Dua Lipa, Madonna, Elton John, and Questlove, DaBaby was dropped from multiple music festivals for his actions. Lollapalooza led the charge, announcing on the day of the event that the rapper would no longer be performing. Governor’s Ball, Day N Vegas, KS 107.5 Summer Jam, iHeart Radio Music Festival, Midtown Music Festival, and the Can’t Wait: Live! benefit concert, where he was slated to headline the show, all followed suit.
“It doesn’t feel good, but to be honest, does it feel good to give resources to someone who publicly states values that are not in line with your organization’s? No, that doesn’t feel good, either,” said Working Families Party National Organizing Director of Partnerships and Strategy Nelini Stamp in an emailed statement to VIBE. The Working Families Party organized the aforementioned benefit concert. The organization has moved to replace the rapper with R&B singer Neyo and is working to provide on-site HIV testing services and other services in light of DaBaby’s statements.
NEW: @NeYoCompound is joining us at #CantWaitLive on 8/13.
See you in Philly. pic.twitter.com/fso3WBoV3A
— Working Families Party ? (@WorkingFamilies) August 6, 2021
“That’s why we want it to be a free event,” said Stamp. “So that people can just enjoy each other and be with their community, but also do it for a message and for a change.”
Hot New Hip Hop reported Kanye West removed his collaboration with DaBaby, which also featured 2 Chainz, “Nah Nah Nah (Remix)” from streaming services; however, the reason behind this action has not been confirmed. It was deleted two weeks after the controversy transpired. The original version of the track also appears to no longer be available.
The 29-year-old rapper who typically tweets every few days has not used the platform since July 29 as of publication.