Nick Cannon has been fired by ViacomCBS over anti-Semitic remarks that he made on his podcast, Cannon’s Class.
In the episode, Cannon was in conversation with rapper Professor Griff, who left Public Enemy in 1989 after making similar anti-Semitic comments in a Washington Post interview.
Cannon confidently spoke what he deemed to be the truth of a number of conspiracy theories in the episode, referencing “the Rothschilds, centralized banking, the 13 families, and the bloodlines that control everything”.
After his comments went viral, ViacomCBS ostracized Nick from his longtime comedy franchise “Wild ‘N Out.”
Instead of backing down, the multimedia entrepreneur and host of the “Masked Singer”, pushed back stating:
“Viacom’s goal to keep me from providing for my family and lineage will be foiled,” that the company was trying to “kick me while I’m down or force me to kiss the master’s feet in public,” and that it was trying to “hang me out to dry and make an example of anyone who says something they don’t agree with.”
Cannon asserted that the conversation was not hateful, because “Semitic people are black people.” “You can’t be anti-Semitic when we are the Semitic people,” he said. He also voiced admiration for, Louis Farrakhan, the Nation of Islam leader.
ViacomCBS responded to the controversy in a statement announcing that they have “terminated” their relationship with Nick Cannon.
“While we support ongoing education and dialogue in the fight against bigotry, we are deeply troubled that Nick has failed to acknowledge or apologize for perpetuating anti-Semitism, and we are terminating our relationship with him,” the statement said. Cannon had a longstanding relationship with ViacomCBS, including hosting shows on Nickelodeon and MTV like Wild ‘N Out and Lip Sync Battle Shorties.
Nick has since taken to Twitter to apologize for his comments since receiving backlash.
“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.”
In the thread, Cannon says that he has removed the episode featuring the interview and that his comments “reinforced the worst stereotypes of a proud and magnificent people” and that he feels “ashamed of the uninformed and naïve place that these words came from.”
A few days later, after continuous scrutiny, Nick tweeted;
“I hurt an entire community and it pained me to my core, I thought it couldn’t get any worse. Then I watched my own community turn on me and call me a sell-out for apologizing.”
In the era of cancel culture. it seems like Cannon can’t catch a break, no matter what he manages to get out in 140-characters.
