Nick Cannon is paying the price for his anti-Semitic tirade that went viral this week.
As of Tuesday afternoon, the creator and longtime host of Wild ‘N Out was swiftly let go by parent company ViacomCBS for failing to apologize for offensive remarks made on a recent episode of his YouTube podcast, Cannon’s Class.
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In an official statement to TVLine, a rep for the conglomerate said:
“ViacomCBS condemns bigotry of any kind and we categorically denounce all forms of anti-Semitism. We have spoken to 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. We are committed to doing better in our response to incidents of anti-Semitism, racism, and bigotry. ViacomCBS will have further announcements on our efforts to combat hate of all kinds.”
For those who missed it, Cannon alleged his comments about “evil” and animalistic white people acting out of fear, and the conspiracy theory that Jewish people controlled centralized banking, could not be considered anti-Semitic because Black people are “true Hebrews” who need to reclaim their Semitic birthright.
Sigh. We know, we know. It’s a lot to take in.
After his comments sparked outrage, the 39-year-old shared a response on Facebook insisting he has “no hate” nor “malice intentions.” (Not quite a direct apology, btw!) He encouraged open dialogue with clergy members or anyone who’d like to have open discourse with him, but instead, he got the pink slip. The comedy series was just renewed for three more seasons, though, so it could get picked up elsewhere… Although, we doubt any network wants to get close to this mess. It’s also unclear at this point if he’ll also be terminated from his hosting gig on FOX‘s The Masked Singer, too.
Nick Bites Back!
If you thought the controversial star was going to take this lying down, think again! Mariah Carey‘s ex-husband has not only asked for ownership of his MTV and VH1 series, but he is also requesting an apology from the company. Oh, really?!
In a new FB post titled, “Truth and Reconciliation,” the father of two said he was “deeply saddened” this moment for growth and reconciliation was “misused” in an effort to silence his freedom of speech:
“Instead the moment was stolen and highjacked [sic] to make an example of an outspoken black man. I will not be bullied, silenced, or continuously oppressed by any organization, group, or corporation. I am disappointed that Viacom does not understand or respect the power of the Black community.”
The performer alleged ViacomCBS recently banned “all advertisement that supported George Floyd and Breonna Taylor who we are still seeking justice for.” Cannon also claimed he personally reached out to ViacomCBS chair Shari Redstone “to have a conversation of reconciliation and actually apologize if I said anything that pained or hurt her or her community,” and received no response.
Per Variety, the company has not yet responded to requests for comment about Redstone or the advertising allegations. If they’re proven true, that’s pretty messed up. However, this does not excuse what Nick did here — and the network is not wasting time with their decision to pull his show!
One Twitter user shared proof that scheduled episodes of Wild ‘N Out were replaced by reruns of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air late last night as this all unfolded:
Wild ‘N Out is scheduled to be on, but Fresh Prince is playing smh they canceled Nick Cannon off VH1 expeditiously smh pic.twitter.com/QKwMeric4p
— Tamantha ???????? (@Tamantha_5) July 15, 2020
Cannon’s statement continued with more angst for the situation as the star revealed he is now receiving death threats for his words:
“My hope and original goal was to use this moment to show healing and acceptance and prayed that Viacom would use their powers for good. Instead I am now receiving death threats, hate messages calling me an ungrateful N***** and beyond. Viacom’s goal to keep me from providing for my family and lineage will be foiled. They can try to kick me while I’m down or force me to kiss the master’s feet in public for shame and ridicule, but instead I stand firm on my square with my fist in the air repeating my mantra, ‘You can’t fire a Boss!'”
You can ch-ch-check out the rest of his statement in full (below) and let us know what you think about all of this in the comments.
[Image via WENN/Instar]
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