After cutting DaBaby from Can’t Wait Live: A Concert for Jobs, Climate and Care, the Working Families Party announced on Friday (Aug. 7) that R&B star Ne-Yo would be replacing him.
The “So Sick” singer will join fellow headliners Saweetie and Wyclef Jean at the free-to-the-public concert on Friday, Aug. 13, along with opening acts Mavis Staples, Snow Tha Product, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Beach Bunny and DJ Diamond Kutz. For those unable to attend in person, the event will be livestreamed on the Working Families YouTube and Facebook pages.
Not just a concert, Can’t Wait Live will also serve as a rally, where artists, activists and the Working Families Party will call on Congress to pass legislation investing in important causes like immigration, climate change, healthcare and housing. “Americans can’t wait for our communities to have a rightful path to recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic,” the organization said in a press release. “Coming off a year of historic suffering, speakers will highlight the urgency of the intersecting crises Americans face, including climate disasters and unemployment, and remind Democrats in Congress that voters expect them to deliver on their commitments to bold, popular policies that will tackle decades of disinvestment and improve the post-pandemic lives of working people.”
The news comes after the Working Families Party became the first organization to drop DaBaby following his homophobic comments at Rolling Loud Miami. In an interview with Billboard, the party’s director of strategy and partnerships Nelini Stamp said that the decision to cut DaBaby was based in the organization’s moral obligation to the communities they serve.
“We got together and we just talked about how could we make an announcement that focused on the fact that we know this [DaBaby’s comments] is wrong, but also really re-pivot and not make it about any individual,” Stamp told Billboaard. “Rather, it was a situation where we could say, ‘This is what we’re fighting for.'”
Following his removal from Can’t Wait Live, DaBaby was later cut from the lineups of six major music festivals in the span of 72 hours, including Lollapalooza, Governors Ball, Austin City Limits, Music Midtown and more. The rapper has since issued his second attempt at an apology, writing “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.”
Can’t Wait Live: A Concert for Jobs, Climate and Care will take place at 4 p.m. ET, Friday, Aug. 13, at The Mann Center in Philadelphia, PA. Get your tickets and learn more here.
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