DaBaby lost Lollapalooza slot ‘after promised apology failed to materialise’
DaBaby has faced criticism for his comments about gay people and HIV. (Rich Fury/Getty)
DaBaby reportedly lost his headline Lollapalooza slot after he failed to deliver a promised video apology for his homophobic and misogynistic rant.
The North Carolina singer, real name Jonathan Kirk, ignited a firestorm of criticism after calling on Rolling Loud festival-goers to raise their phones as long as they don’t have HIV, AIDS or any sexually transmitted infection “that’ll make you die in two to three weeks”.
Lollapalooza, the three-day Illinois festival, dropped DaBaby as it reaffirmed its commitment to “diversity, inclusivity, respect and love“.
According to Billboard, representatives of the rapper reached out to organisers of at least seven festivals promoters, Lollapalooza included, to reassure them a “heartfelt” video was in the pipeline.
The recorded apology to LGBT+ people would have been played during a performance in Miami the weekend prior, it is understood.
But when the morning of 1 August arrived and with no apology sent, Lollapalooza’s organisers C3 Presents and Live Nation booted DaBaby from its line-up completely and swapped him out with Young Thug.
The “Blame it on Baby” rapper has since pulled from Austin City Limits, iHeartRadio and Midtown Music, each festival’s organiser announced Tuesday (2 August).
“DaBaby will no longer be performing at Austin City Limits Music Festival,” the ACL Festival tweeted. Music Midtown issued a more or less identical statement that same day.
Atlanta music festival iHeartRadio sent out a similar statement to Rolling Stone, writing: “DaBaby will no longer be performing at the iHeartRadio Music Festival Daytime Stage.”
None of the festivals explicitly mentioned DaBbay’s incendiary remarks as the reason why the recording artist was removed from the line-up, however.
DaBaby dropped by raft of music festivals for ‘ignorant’ homophobic rant
DaBaby sought to apologise for his “hurtful and triggering comments” on the same day that he was kicked out of the Governors Ball in New York City as well as Day N Vegas in Las Vegas.
His name has also been stripped from Philadelphia’s Can’t Wait: Live! benefit convert and the Parklife Festival in Manchester, England.
The drumbeat of festival cancellations came as DaBaby flip-flopped in his response to the heaving backlash he weathered for his rant.
“Ladies, if your p***y smell like water, put a cellphone light them up,” he said at Rolling Loud. “Fellas, if you ain’t sucking d**k in the parking lot put your cellphone light up. Keep it real.”
DaBaby performs on stage during Rolling Loud at Hard Rock Stadium on 25 July, 2021. (Getty/ Rich Fury)
Elton John, Madonna, Dua Lipa, Demi Lovato, Lil Nas X’s father and countless LGBT+ and HIV advocacy groups railed against DaBaby for his combative remarks, branding them “ignorant” and “shocking”.
DaBaby initially balked at apologising – the fault-finding was just a “weak ass internet issue“, he said.
As criticism simmered, he later said sorry for his “insensitive” comments but shied away from apologising for his homophobic ones.
And in the aftermath of a new music video where he crudely mocked his detractors, he issued yet another apology where he finally faced the consequences of his actions.
“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 on Instagram.
“As a man who has had to make his own way from very difficult circumstances, having people I know publicly working against me – knowing that what I needed was education on these topics and guidance – has been challenging.”
“I want to apologise to the LGBTQ+ community for the hurtful and triggering comments I made,” he added.
“Again, I apologise for my misinformed comments about HIV/AIDS and I knew education on this is important.”
