Rapper DaBaby has offered a third
apology over his recent comments about gay men and HIV.
At a concert in Miami last weekend,
DaBaby told the crowd: “If you didn't show up today with HIV, AIDS,
any of them deadly sexually transmitted diseases that'll make you die
in two, twee weeks, then put your cellphone light up.”
“Fellas, if you ain't sucking dick in
the parking lot, put your cellphone lighter up,” he also said.
Sir Elton John, Madonna, and Dua Lipa
were among the celebrities who criticized DaBaby's comments.
On Sunday, organizers of Chicago's
Lollapalooza Music Festival dropped DaBaby from its lineup. The
29-year-old rapper is also no longer scheduled to perform at
Manchester's Parklife Festival and the Governor's Ball in New York,
both of which take place in September. Fashion brand BoohooMAN also
said it was reviewing its relationship with DaBaby and condemned his
remarks.
DaBaby's attempts to make amends have
fallen flat. In one apology, he told the LGBT community that “Y'all
business is y'all business.” In a rainbow message at the end of his
latest video, DaBaby said: “My apologies for being me the same way
you want the freedom to be you.”
In his latest apology posted on
Instagram, DaBaby called his comments “misinformed.”
“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,” DaBaby wrote.
“As a man who has had to make his own
way from very difficult circumstances, having people I know publicly
working against me – knowing that what I needed was education on
these topics and guidance – has been challenging.”
“I appreciate the many people who
came to me with kindness, who reached out to me privately to offer
wisdom, education, and resources. That’s what I needed and it was
received.”
“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. Love to all. God bless,” he said.