DaBaby ‘deletes’ lacklustre apology to the LGBT+ community for HIV rant
DaBaby performs on stage during Rolling Loud at Hard Rock Stadium on 25 July, 2021. (Getty/ Rich Fury)
DaBaby appears to have deleted his apology to the LGBT+ community for his homophobic rant about queer men and people living with HIV.
Last month, the 29-year-old ignited a firestorm with remarks made on stage at the Rolling Loud festival in Miami, Florida.
“If you didn’t show up today with HIV, AIDS, any of them deadly sexually transmitted diseases that’ll make you die in two to three weeks, put your cellphone light up,” he told the crowd.
He then called on male audience members who “didn’t suck d**k in the parking lot” and women whose “p*****s smell like water” to raise their mobile phones in the air.
A week later, the “ROCKSTAR” rapper apologised to the LGBT+ community for his “misinformed” and “hurtful” comments.
But much like his multiple headline gigs, DaBaby’s Instagram apology has vanished without a trace, fans have noticed.
DaBaby’s deletes apology – but tweets and grotesque AIDS song remain
“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’s statement originally read.
“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.”
DaBaby faced a tidal wave of criticism for his comments. (Jason Koerner/Getty Images)
DaBaby came forward with the since-deleted statement after a number of major upcoming music festivals pulled him from line-ups, including Parklife, Lollapalooza and Governors Ball.
While he appears to have deleted his Instagram apology, tweets where he tells LGBT+ fans “I ain’t trippin’ on y’all, do you. Y’all business is y’all business” remain available.
The untouched tweets include his first tepid response to the backlash sparked where he said sorry for his “insensitive” HIV comments – but he stopped short of a mea culpa to LGBT+ fans.
DaBaby’s bombast fuelled a thumping backlash in and outside of the music industry, with singers such as Elton John and Dua Lipa criticising the rapper.
Singer Miley Cyrus, however, offered to guide the artist before adding that “it’s easier to cancel someone than to find forgiveness and compassion in ourselves or take the time to change hearts and mind”.
