The rapper was criticized for asking fans at a performance last week to raise their phones in the air if they didn’t have H.I.V. or AIDS.
DaBaby’s scheduled performance at the Lollapalooza music festival in Chicago was canceled on Sunday after the rapper made homophobic comments that other music artists condemned.
DaBaby, whose real name is Jonathan Kirk, asked fans to raise their phones in the air if they did not have H.I.V., AIDS or another sexually transmitted disease “that’ll make you die in two to three weeks.”
The comment was one of a series of homophobic and misogynistic remarks that the 29-year-old made during his performance at the Rolling Loud music festival in Miami last weekend.
The comments by the Grammy-nominated rapper ignited a firestorm inside and outside of the music industry.
He lost a brand deal with the clothing brand boohooMAN, he is no longer in the lineup of Parklife, a U.K. music festival taking place next month, and he was condemned by musicians, including Dua Lipa, Elton John and Madonna.
On Sunday morning, hours before he was set to perform, Lollapalooza organizers announced that DaBaby was dropped from the lineup.
“Lollapalooza was founded on diversity, inclusivity, respect, and love. With that in mind, DaBaby will no longer be performing,” the organizers said on Twitter.
Young Thug, another rapper, was set to perform during DaBaby’s 9 p.m. time slot instead, the organizers said.
DaBaby apologized for his comments on Twitter on Tuesday, saying that anyone who was affected by AIDS or H.I.V. had “the right to be upset,” but he added that “y’all digested that wrong.”
A day after he apologized, he appeared to reverse his mea culpa in the end credits of his new music video. “My apologies for being me the same way you want the freedom to be you,” the message said.
Representatives for DaBaby did not respond to emails seeking comment on Sunday.
The rapper’s music first climbed the Billboard charts in 2019 with his debut studio album “Baby on Baby,” which featured his hit single “Suge.” He was nominated for six Grammy Awards in the last two years.
DaBaby collaborated last year with Dua Lipa, a Grammy-winning singer, on a remix of her song “Levitating.” Ms. Lipa was one of a number of musicians who decried the rapper’s comments last week.
“I’m surprised and horrified at DaBaby’s comments,” Ms. Lipa said on Instagram. “I really don’t recognize this as the person I worked with.”
Madonna, in a statement on Instagram, corrected the rapper’s scientifically inaccurate comments, adding, “If you’re going to make hateful remarks to the LGBTQ+ community about HIV/AIDS then know your facts.”
Elton John said on Twitter that DaBaby’s statement “fuels stigma and discrimination.”
DaBaby was in the spotlight in January after he was charged in Beverly Hills, Calif., for having a concealed handgun.
Contrary to what DaBaby said, people with H.I.V. can live a healthy life if they treat the disease with medication, according to HIV.gov. About 1.2 million Americans have H.I.V., and infection rates have declined in the last few years. People with AIDS typically survive three years without treatment, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Source: Music - nytimes.com
