After DaBaby was roundly criticized for his homophobic comments onstage at Rolling Loud Miami on Sunday night, GLAAD has released a response, calling the rapper’s remarks “inaccurate, hurtful, and harmful” to the LGBTQ community and those living with HIV.
During his set at Rolling Loud’s closing night, DaBaby told the crowd, “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 di– in the parking lot, put your cellphone lighter up!”
DaShawn Usher, GLAAD’s associate director of communities of color, responded to DaBaby’s comments on Wednesday (July 28), urging that he take full accountability for his words and work to do better.
“The rhetoric that DaBaby used is inaccurate, hurtful, and harmful to the LGBTQ community and the estimated 1.2 million Americans living with HIV,” Usher said in a statement issued to Billboard and shared on Twitter. “It is critical that DaBaby and his fans learn that people living with HIV today, when on effective treatment, lead long and healthy lives and cannot transmit HIV.
“While DaBaby has made haphazard attempts to ‘apologize,’ actions need to be taken for full accountability and changes to do better in the future,” the statement continues. “It further confirms what GLAAD reported last year in the State of HIV Stigma Study that stigma and misinformation around HIV is widespread, and there is much work to be done to educate the public, including entertainers.”
The apology Usher referenced came from DaBaby’s Twitter thread posted Tuesday, when he specifically said sorry to anyone affected by HIV/AIDS for his “insensitive” words, though he still blamed his critics for misinterpreting the rest.
Social media lit up over DaBaby’s comments, which were livestreamed Sunday night on YouTube from Rolling Loud Miami. His fellow artists had something to say too, with T.I. coming out in support of DaBaby, while Dua Lipa condemned her “Levitating” remix collaborator’s remarks, writing on her Instagram Story: “I’m surprised and horrified at DaBaby’s comments. I really don’t recognize this as the person I worked with. I know my fans know where my heart lies and that I stand 100% with the LGTBQ community. We need to come together to fight the stigma and ignorance around HIV/AIDS.” Elton John also released a statement condemning the rapper’s comments and offering those following him some important information about HIV and AIDS, courtesy of the Elton John AIDS Foundation.
See Usher’s Twitter thread below:
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