This week, DaBaby found himself in the crosshairs of social media. The North Carolina-bred rap star born Jonathan Lyndale Kirk is facing criticism for his perceived homophobic comments at the Rolling Loud Miami festival.
“If you didn’t show up today with HIV, AIDS, or any of [those] deadly sexually transmitted diseases, that’ll make you die in two to three weeks, then put your cellphone lighter up,” said DaBaby at the Hip Hop event.
In addition, DaBaby told the Rolling Loud Miami crowd, “Ladies, if your p#### smell like water, put your cellphone lighter up. Fellas, if you ain’t sucking a n####’s dick in the parking lot, put your cellphone lighter up.”
The online backlash directed at DaBaby came nearly instantly. Even his “Levitating” collaborator Dua Lipa expressed being “surprised and horrified” by the rapper’s comments. Dua Lipa wrote on Instagram that she stands 100% with the LGBTQ community.
DaBaby has now offered an apology for singling out people with HIV/AIDS during his Rolling Loud Miami performance. The Blame It on Baby album creator took to Twitter to share his mea culpa while also mentioning Black Americans being assaulted by law enforcement officers.
“I tell fans to put a cellphone light in the air y’all start a Million Man March. ✊🏽I told you y’all digested that wrong 🤷🏽♂️but I ain’t gone lie I’m impressed. Now show this same amount of support when a racist cop [kills] one of our black ass…YA NOT 😂,” tweeted DaBaby on Tuesday afternoon.
The 29-year-old Interscope recording artist added, “Anybody who done ever been [affected] by AIDS/HIV y’all got the right to be upset, what I said was insensitive even though I have no intentions on offending anybody. So my apologies. 🙏🏽But the LGBT community… I ain’t trippin on y’all, do you. Y’all business is y’all business.”
I tell fans to put a cellphone light in the air y’all start a million man March.✊🏾
— DaBaby (@DaBabyDaBaby) July 27, 2021
I told you y’all digested that wrong 🤷🏾♂️but I ain’t gone lie I’m impressed.
Now show this same amount of support when a racist cop kill one of our black ass…YA NOT 😂
Anybody who done ever been effected by AIDS/HIV y’all got the right to be upset, what I said was insensitive even though I have no intentions on offending anybody. So my apologies 🙏🏾
— DaBaby (@DaBabyDaBaby) July 27, 2021
But the LGBT community… I ain’t trippin on y’all, do you. y’all business is y’all business.
& for any brands, networks, or artists that like to profit off of black rappers influence on the culture, without understanding it or having the patience to deal with what comes with the position we play in our culture.
— DaBaby (@DaBabyDaBaby) July 27, 2021
Keep yo money next time
us “N#####” human too.#GodBless