DaBaby is responding to social media criticism over homophobic comments he made during day three of Rolling Loud Miami on Sunday, telling anyone who wasn’t at the festival to “shut the f— up.”
In a viral video shared on social media, DaBaby is heard onstage during his performance at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, saying, “If you didn’t show up today with HIV, AIDS, or any of them deadly sexually transmitted diseases that’ll make you die in two to three weeks, then put your cellphone lighter up! Ladies, if your p—y smell like water, put your cellphone lighter up! Fellas, if you ain’t sucking d— in the parking lot, put your cellphone lighter up!”
Beyond those who heard the comments on site, Rolling Loud Miami was also livestreamed on YouTube, so social media had a lot to say about DaBaby’s remarks.
On his own Instagram story Monday (July 26), DaBaby did not apologize for his statements and instead said that individuals who did not pay to attend the event should not respond. He went on to repeat the same comments he made at Rolling Loud Miami and claimed he is the “best live performer” and was simply making a “call to action” on Sunday.
DaBaby began his 19-segment IG story by saying, “I’mma address this weekend’s internet sh– one time and then I’mma get back to giving my love to my fans, see what I’m saying? Because what me and my fans do at the live show, it don’t concern all you n—as on the internet or you bitter bi—es on the internet. It’s not y’all’s business. What I do at a live show is for the live show. It’ll never translate correctly to somebody looking at a little five-, six-second clip from their crib on their phone. It just don’t work like that, right? Regardless of what y’all motherf—ers are talking about and how the internet twisted up my motherf—ing words, me and all my fans at the show, the gay ones and the straight ones, we turned the f— up. I’m talking about my boy that was at the front of stage left where I jumped, ask him. He got clips all on his sh–. The whole night was recorded. We were turning up the whole night. My boy had the crop top on front row. He out there in that jungle, in that water. He out there cutting up. He knows the words to the song. I’m rapping them bi—es with ’em.
“Y’all talking, y’all n—as shut the f— up,” he continued. “You n—as that ain’t at the show, the show was for the n—-as who paid the money and took the time out their life to come enjoy the show. Not you motherf—ers watching it on the internet, at the crib. No n—a, get your tickets. Come f— with the live show, killa, gay or straight.”
Re-emphasizing his comments about individuals living with STDS, DaBaby said “all the lights went on” after he told fans to put up their cellphone lights because even his “gay fans don’t got f—ing AIDS, stupid a– n—as. They don’t got AIDS. My gay fans, they take care of themselves. They ain’t no nasty gay n—as. See what I’m saying? They ain’t no junkies in the street. The hell you talking about, n—as? Then I said if you ain’t sucking di– in the parking lot, put your cellphone lighter up. You know what my gay fans did? Put that motherf—ing light up, n—a, ’cause my gay fans ain’t going for that. They got class. They ain’t sucking no di– in no parking lot. N—a, you gotta get a room. A good one, five-star hotel. Even my gay fans got standards.”
DaBaby continued doubling down on his comments, saying, “Y’all n—-s trippin’. Y’all n—-s bringing negative attention and energy upon y’all selves and the ones that’s doing it is people who didn’t even attend the show, so this sh– don’t concern y’all at all.”
He went on to say that people “who like to butt in” on other people’s business should “shut the f— up. Don’t be disturbing my motherf—ing gay fans and making them feel uncomfortable in their skin ’cause you done seen some sh– that you wasn’t supposed to see anyway.”
DaBaby concluded by saying: “None of that sh– matters to me. What matters to me when I’m on the stage is putting on a show for any and everybody that’s out there and that’s what the f— I did.”
One person who did support DaBaby’s onstage comments was T.I. In his own Instagram video, the rapper said, “If you gonna have the Lil Nas X video and him living his truth, you gonna damn sure have people like DaBaby who gonna speak their truth. Ain’t nothing wrong with none of it, it ain’t got to be no hate — it’s all honesty. Everybody living in their truth.”
Billboard has reached out to DaBaby’s team and to GLAAD for statements regarding the rapper’s Rolling Loud Miami onstage comments.