During his performance last week at Rolling Loud Miami, rapper DaBaby made several homophobic remarks to the crowd, saying, “If you didn’t show up today with HIV, AIDS, any of them deadly sexually transmitted diseases that’ll make you die in two, three weeks, put a cellphone light in the air!” The comments immediately prompted strong reactions from collaborator Dua Lipa, who said in an Instagram story, “I really don’t recognize this as the person I worked with,” as well as clothing brand BoohooMan, who dropped DaBaby as a partner.
Monday, Governors Ball became the third festival to drop DaBaby as a performer, following the lead of Lollapalooza and England’s Parklife Festival (though a rep for the rapper said he had pulled out of the latter months earlier). As this post was being published, he was dropped from yet another festival: Day N Vegas, with Roddy Ricch appearing in his place. These cancellations come in spite of the rapper’s attempts to make amends, which include “apologizing” on Twitter and, in the video for his latest single “Giving What It’s Supposed To Give,” holding up a sign that says “AIDS” and including the message, “Don’t fight hate with hate. My apologies for being me the same way you want the freedom to be you,” at the end of the video, tinted with rainbow coloring.
In a tweet announcing the decision, Governors Ball gave the following statement: “Founders Entertainment does not and will not tolerate hate or discrimination of any kind. We welcome and celebrate the diverse communities that make New York City the greatest city in the world. Thank you to the fans who continue to speak up for what is right. Along with you, we will continue to use our platform for good.” They also noted, “Stay tuned for a lineup addition.”
DaBaby issued another apology via Instagram on Monday afternoon, writing, “I want to apologize to the LGBTQ+ community for the hurtful and triggering comments I made. Again, I apologize for my misinformed comments about HIV/AIDS and I know education on this is important.”
Paste has reached out to reps for DaBaby for comment on his removal from these festivals. You can see the video for “Giving What It’s Supposed To Give” below.
[Note: This post has been updated with the addition of DaBaby’s removal from Day N Vegas and his subsequent apology post.]
