Source : TMZ
Nick Cannon has come under fire after a conversation on his podcast, Cannon’s Class, was deemed to contain racist and anti-Semitic language. On Tuesday, media giant ViacomCBS responded to the incident by terminating their longrunning relationship with the artist.
The June 30 episode, which was flagged by a Jewish blogger on Sunday, contained a 90-minute interview between Cannon and former Public Enemy member Richard Griffin, best known by his stage name Professor Griff. In the interview, Cannon made comments that were said to spread views of anti-Semitism.
ViacomCBS, within a detailed statement said:
“ViacomCBS condemns bigotry of any kind and we categorically denounce all forms of anti-Semitism. We have spoken with Nick Cannon about an episode of his podcast “Cannon’s Class” on YouTube, which promoted hateful speech and spread anti-Semitic conspiracy theories.
While we support ongoing education and dialogue in the fight against bigotry, we are deeply troubled that Nick has failed to acknowledge or apologize for perpetuating anti-Semitism, and we are terminating our relationship with him.
We are committed to doing better in our response to incidents of anti-Semitism, racism, and bigotry. ViacomCBS will have further announcements on our efforts to combat hate of all kinds.”
Cannon took to Twitter on Monday to respond to negative criticism he was receiving online. “Anyone who knows me knows that I have no hate in my heart nor malice intentions,” he wrote. “I do not condone hate speech nor the spread of hateful rhetoric. We are living in a time when it is more important than ever to promote unity and understanding.”
In a later tweet he called himself an “advocate for people’s voices to be heard openly, fairly and candidly.” He continued, “In today’s conversation about anti-racism and social justice, I think we all including myself must continue educating one another & embrace uncomfortable conversations it’s the only way we ALL get better.”
Cannon further defended himself in a lengthy Facebook post early Wednesday morning, in which he said he reached out to ViacomCBS chair Shari Redstone “to have a conversation of reconciliation and actually apologize if I said anything that pained or hurt her or her community.” But he claims his request to speak with Redstone was met with silence. He also demanded “full ownership of my billion dollar Wild ‘N Out brand that I created, and they will continue to misuse and destroy without my leadership!”
A rep for Redstone says Cannon’s claim he reached out to Redstone is “absolutely untrue.”
Cannon is the host of improv competition series Wild ‘n’ Out on VH1, which got renewed in 2019 for three more seasons. Elsewhere, Cannon is the host of the Fox variety musical series The Masked Singer.
In June, it was announced that he would be producing and starring in unscripted series Celebrity Call Center for the E! network. This fall, he is scheduled to begin his own syndicated daytime talk show with Lionsgate titled Nick Cannon, premiering on Fox stations Sept. 21.