One of DaBaby’s apologies has disappeared — as has a remix he did with Kanye West
It’s not a good time for DaBaby to get away with anything. But apparently that’s not stopping him from trying.
An apology he addressed to the LGBTQ+ community last week has gone missing from Instagram. The rapper had apologized for homophobic comments he made at the Rolling Loud show in Miami in late July, sparking an immediate backlash that led to widespread criticism and several canceled festival gigs.
Also this past weekend, fellow rapper Kanye West or perhaps his team removed a 2020 remix of the song “Nah Nah Nah” featuring DaBaby and 2Chainz from streaming services Apple Music, Spotify and Tidal.
While the rapper’s July 27 Twitter apology for his comments remained live as of Monday afternoon, an Instagram apology posted several days later was nowhere to be seen Sunday.
From Lollapalooza to ACL, here’s a running list of music festivals that have scrubbed rapper DaBaby from their lineups after his homophobic rant.
“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 ... ,” that post had said, in part. “I want to apologize to the LGBTQ+ community for the hurtful and triggering comments I made. I apologize for my misinformed comments about HIV/AIDS and I know education on this is important.”
DaBaby made his controversial comments at the Rolling Loud hip-hop festival June 25 in Miami.
During his performance, the 29-year-old told audience members to put their cellphone lights up “if you didn’t show up today with HIV/AIDS or other sexually transmitted diseases that’ll make you die in 2-3 weeks.”
He also made a homophobic remark — addressed to the “fellas” in the audience — about oral sex between men.
Shortly after Megan Thee Stallion’s set at Rolling Loud, fellow rapper DaBaby brought Tory Lanez onstage and went on a homophobic and sexist rant.
The rapper, who had performed after Megan Thee Stallion, also was accused of misogyny for inviting Canadian rapper Tory Lanez onstage and speaking crudely about women. Lanez pleaded not guilty last November to felony assault with a semiautomatic weapon and another charge after allegedly shooting “Hot Girl Summer” rapper Megan in the foot in July 2020.
Shortly after Rolling Loud, DaBaby doubled down on his comments, saying in his Instagram story that the internet had “twisted” his words and the people who didn’t pay to see him “wasn’t supposed to see that sh— anyway.” Then he reversed course and apologized for his anti-gay comments.
‘Y’all business is y’all business,’ DaBaby told the LGBTQ community after his recent homophobic remarks, which Elton John slammed for promoting ‘HIV mistruths.’
But there were repercussions: He was dropped from the lineups of Chicago’s Lollapalooza, Las Vegas’ Day N Vegas festival, New York City’s Governors Ball, the Parklife festival in Britain and a number of other summer shows.
“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,” the rapper wrote last month on Twitter. “But the LGBT community... I ain’t trippin on y’all, do you. y’all business is y’all business.”
Sunday on Instagram, DaBaby — real name Jonathan Lyndale Kirk — went another direction, wishing his late brother Glenn Johnson a happy birthday. Johnson died last November at age 34 of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Times staff writer Christi Carras and intern Ruth Etiesit Samuel contributed to this report.
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