Nick Cannon apologizes to Jewish community, keeps ‘Masked Singer’ hosting gig
Nick Cannon has apologized again to the Jewish community after drawing sharp criticism this week for a podcast conversation with former Public Enemy rapper Richard Griffin, a.k.a. Professor Griff. And he has the support of at least one of his employers, Fox.
“First and foremost I extend my deepest and most sincere apologies to my Jewish sisters and brothers for the hurtful and divisive words that came out of my mouth during my interview with Richard Griffin,” Cannon wrote Wednesday evening, kicking off a lengthy Twitter thread.
“They reinforced the worst stereotypes of a proud and magnificent people and I feel ashamed of the uninformed and naïve place that these words came from. The video of this interview has since been removed.”
Cannon’s apology comes shortly after ViacomCBS cut ties with him Tuesday over the anti-Semitic comments he made during the controversial episode of “Cannon’s Class.” Fox, however, has opted to “move forward” with Cannon as host of the absurdist competition program “The Masked Singer.”
“When we were made aware of Nick Cannon’s interview with Richard Griffin on YouTube, we immediately began a dialogue with Nick,” Fox said Wednesday in a statement.
“He is clear and remorseful that his words were wrong and lacked both understanding and context, and inadvertently promoted hate. This was important for us to observe. Nick has sincerely apologized, and quickly taken steps to educate himself and make amends.”
During the divisive podcast installment, which debuted a couple weeks ago, Cannon called Black people “the true Hebrews” and discussed anti-Semitic conspiracy theories with Griffin, who was kicked out of Public Enemy in 1989 over anti-Jewish remarks. Cannon and Griffin are both Black.
“While the Jewish experience encompasses more than 5,000 years and there is so much I have yet to learn, I have had at least a minor history lesson over the past few days and to say that it is eye-opening would be a vast understatement,” Cannon continued Wednesday, thanking “the Rabbis, community leaders and institutions who reached out to help enlighten” him, “instead of chastising.”
“I want to assure my Jewish friends, new and old, that this is only the beginning of my education—I am committed to deeper connections, more profound learning and strengthening the bond between our two cultures today and every day going forward.”
After ViacomCBS announced it was parting ways with Cannon, the veteran TV host lashed out at the media conglomerate on Facebook Wednesday morning and demanded an apology, as well as “full ownership of my billion dollar ‘Wild ‘N Out’ brand that I created.”
In addition to “The Masked Singer,” Cannon also hosts a morning radio show on Los Angeles’ KPWR Power 106 station, which has not publicly responded to the controversy.
“Given a belief that this moment calls for dialogue, we will move forward with Nick and help him advance this important conversation, broadly,” Fox’s statement continued. “Fox condemns all forms of hate directed toward any community and we will combat bigotry of any kind.”
Cannon demanded full ownership of MTV’s ‘Wild ‘n Out’ and an apology from ViacomCBS, which cut ties with him over ‘anti-Semitic conspiracy theories.’
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