After a lot of backlash, Nick Cannon has apologized for anti-Semitic comments he made on his podcast, Cannon's Class.
The TV personality took to Twitter last night to profusely apologize for his anti-Semitism. He explained that he is in the process of educating himself with members of the Jewish community and said that the video (of him making the offensive remarks) in question has since been removed.
"While the Jewish experience encompasses more than 5,000 years and there is so much I have yet to learn, I have had at least a minor history lesson over the past few days and to say that it is eye-opening would be a vast understatement," he wrote.
"I want to express my gratitude to the Rabbis, community leaders and institutions who reached out to me to help enlighten me, instead of chastising me. I want to assure my Jewish friends, new and old, that this is only the beginning of my education — I am committed to deeper connections, more profound learning and strengthening the bond between our two cultures today and every day going forward."
He continued, "On my podcast I used words & referenced literature I assumed to be factual to uplift my community instead turned out to be hateful propaganda and stereotypical rhetoric that pained another community For this I am deeply sorry but now together we can write a new chapter of healing."
In the June 30 episode of Cannon’s Class, the actor and TV personality interviewed Professor Griff, a rapper who was a part of Public Enemy until leaving the group after making anti-Semitic remarks. In the interview, Cannon spouted anti-Semitic conspiracy theories calling Jews "the true savages," and trying to justify his hateful remarks by claiming Black people were the "true Hebrews."
Cannon initially responded to the backlash with a Facebook statement yesterday, where he didn't quite apologize, “I do not condone hate speech nor the spread of hateful rhetoric [...] I encourage more healthy dialogue and welcome any experts, clergy, or spokespersons to any of my platforms to hold me accountable and correct me in any statement that I’ve made that has been projected as negative."
In response to Cannon's comments media conglomerate, ViacomCBS, made the announcement amid mounting outrage toward the Wild n' Out star that it was severing ties with the TV host.
"We have spoken with Nick Cannon about an episode of his podcast ‘Cannon’s Class’ on YouTube, which promoted hateful speech and spread anti-Semitic conspiracy theories. While we support ongoing education and dialogue in the fight against bigotry, we are deeply troubled that Nick has failed to acknowledge or apologize for perpetuating anti-Semitism, and we are terminating our relationship with him," the company wrote.
In the face of the ViacomCBS axing, Cannon is demanding that the corporation give him the rights to his long-running comedy series Wild ’N Out, Vanity Fair reports. He also pushed back on ViacomCBS’s apparent claim that he did not attempt to make amends after his remarks went viral, claiming that his attempts to communicate with network execs were met with silence.
“That’s when I realized they don’t want a conversation or growth, they wanted to put the young negro in his place,” Cannon wrote. “They wanted to show me who is boss, hang me out to dry and make an example of anyone who says something they don’t agree with.”
Fox, on the other hand, stands behind its The Masked Singer host. The Network confirmed on Wednesday that Cannon would continue on the top-rated show since he has shown he is truly "remorseful" for his words.
In a statement, Fox shared, "Nick has sincerely apologized, and quickly taken steps to educate himself and make amends. On that basis and given a belief that this moment calls for dialogue, we will move forward with Nick and help him advance this important conversation, broadly. Fox condemns all forms of hate directed toward any community and we will combat bigotry of any kind."
