Nick Cannon has revealed he’s still going through a growth process following the 2020 anti-Semitic comments he made on his podcast Cannon’s Class.
During his interview with AllHipHop, Cannon was asked how he felt about the aftermath of the anti-Semitic comments he made about the Jewish community. According to the media mogul, that whole situation was a learning process for him, and now he knows that communication can go a long way.
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“Man, I’m going to be super honest with you. That process was a growth moment for me, on so many levels as a man,” Cannon shared. “And I even now, we have a podcast, myself and the CEO of the ADL, Jonathan Greenblatt, called Solutions: To Hate or Not To Hate. And it’s really talking about the equation of our two communities from two different perspectives. We voice our side, or the perspective as a Black man, and then he voices his side from a Jewish man.”
He added: “Just even that alone is helpful and educational for both communities. And again, because that’s the thing, we can sit up here and be enraged, but if we don’t engage, what are we really doing, if we can’t even learn from one another? And clearly, we all know the issues, we all know the tropes, we all know the stereotypes.
“It’s just about bringing people closer together. Ultimately, nobody’s monolithic, but we’re all one organism that allows this thing to keep pumping.”
Cannon was fired from ViacomCBS after a clip of his Cannon’s Class podcast went viral. While speaking to Professor Griff of Public Enemy fame in an episode uploaded to YouTube, the former rapper made some comments perceived to be anti-Semitic.
“It’s never hate speech, you can’t be anti-Semitic when we are the Semitic people,” Cannon said. “When we are the same people who they want to be. That’s our birthright. We are the true Hebrews.”
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He added: “The people who don’t have [melanin] … are a little less … so they’re acting out of fear, they’re acting out of low self-esteem. They’re acting out of a deficiency, so therefore they only way that they can act is evil.
“They have to rob, steal, rape, kill and fight in order to survive … so then these people that didn’t have what we have — and when I say we, I mean the melaninated people — they had to be savages. They had to be barbaric … so they’re the ones that are actually closer to animals. They are the true savages.”
In a statement obtained by Variety, ViacomCBS — the company behind Cannon’s popular show Wild ‘N Out — was emphatic Cannon’s comments wouldn’t be tolerated.
“ViacomCBS condemns bigotry of any kind and we categorically denounce all forms of anti-Semitism,” the statement read. “We have spoken with Nick Cannon about an episode of his podcast ‘Cannon’s Class’ on YouTube, which promoted hateful speech and spread anti-Semitic conspiracy theories.
“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. We are committed to doing better in our response to incidents of anti-Semitism, racism, and bigotry. ViacomCBS will have further announcements on our efforts to combat hate of all kinds.”
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“Nick has not only apologized and taken responsibility for his comments, but he has also worked to educate himself and others through engagement with Jewish leaders and on his platforms,” an MTV Entertainment Group spokesperson said. “Those efforts are of the utmost importance and that’s why we have invited him to rejoin our team. On a separate note, we just learned that he tested positive for COVID and have reached out to wish him a speedy recovery.”
