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Nick Cannon apologized Wednesday for making anti-Semitic remarks on a recent podcast, saying he feels ashamed for his “hurtful” and divisive language. “First and foremost I extend my deepest and most sincere apologies to my Jewish sisters and brothers for the hurtful and divisive words that came out of my mouth during my interview with Richard …
Nick Cannon apologized Wednesday for making anti-Semitic remarks on a recent podcast, saying he feels ashamed for his “hurtful” and divisive language.
“First and foremost I extend my deepest and most sincere apologies to my Jewish sisters and brothers for the hurtful and divisive words that came out of my mouth during my interview with Richard Griffin,” Cannon wrote in a series of tweets addressing his comments in the June 30 episode of “Cannon’s Class.”
“They reinforced the worst stereotypes of a proud and magnificent people and I feel ashamed of the uninformed and naïve place that these words came from,” he said.
Cannon, 39, got into hot water after interviewing Griffin, known as Professor Griff, about his departure from hip-hop group Public Enemy in 1989 for saying “the Jews are wicked” and are responsible for “the majority of wickedness that goes on across the globe.”
Griffin doubled down on his views in the interview, and Cannon agreed.
“You’re speaking facts,” Cannon said. “There’s no reason to be scared of anything when you’re speaking the truth.”
Cannon later added that black people are “true Hebrews.”
“You can’t be anti-Semitic when we are the Semitic people,” Cannon said. “That’s our birthright. So if that’s truly our birthright, there’s no hate involved.”
In his Wednesday statement, Cannon said since the Griffin interview he has had a “minor history lesson” in Jewish history, with Rabbis and community leaders even reaching out to enlighten him.
“I want to assure my Jewish friends, new and old, that this is only the beginning of my education — I am committed to deeper connections, more profound learning and strengthening the bond between our two cultures today and every day going forward,” he wrote.
Cannon is the host of Fox’s wildly popular series “The Masked Singer,” and the network in a Wednesday night statement said they are standing by him.
“Nick has sincerely apologized, and quickly taken steps to educate himself and make amends,” Fox’s statement said.
“On that basis and given a belief that this moment calls for dialogue, we will move forward with Nick and help him advance this important conversation, broadly.”
Earlier Wednesday, before Cannon released his statement, ViacomCBS severed ties with him, writing in a statement “that Nick has failed to acknowledge or apologize for perpetuating anti-Semitism.”
ViacomCBS is the parent company of MTV and TeenNick. Cannon served as chairman of the latter network and hosted MTV’s “Wild ‘N Out.”
