Rapper DaBaby addressed his recent controversial comments at the Rolling Loud music festival in Miami—and drew the ire of many on social media, CNN.com noted.
During the performance, he made false and insulting comments about gay men and HIV, and spoke crudely about women, as well. "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," he said during his performance, according to Complex.
On July 26, DaBaby posted video on his Instagram Live in which he took those criticizing him to task, saying straight and gay fans enjoyed his show, and what happened there is not the business of anyone who wasn't in attendance. Also, according to Yahoo! News, he said, "All the lights went up—gay or straight. You wanna know why? Because even my gay fans don't got f—king AIDS, stupid ass n—as. They don't got AIDS. My gay fans, they take care of themselves. They ain't no nasty gay n—as, see what I'm saying? They ain't no junkies on the street."
Most people criticized DaBaby, including singer Dua Lipa, who stated, "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 LGBTQ community." However, there were some supporters. Fellow rapper T.I., for example, said on Instagram, "If you gonna have the Lil Nas X video and him living his truth, you gonna damn sure have people like DaBaby who gonna speak their truth."
"Social media's full of confusion," added T.I. in a video that was filmed as he was driving, according to Complex. "Words are often misconstrued. And to be honest with you, if homosexuals have more rights than heterosexual people, just say that. Let's let that be the law. Is that the law? I just feel like, I respect gays—especially the ones who have the courage and bravery to step out and live in their truth; I respect that. … But, I respect it the same way if you're a heterosexual person, I respect it the same way."
Amber Rose then entered the conversation and slammed T.I for his comments about Lil' Nas X, per Madame Noire. Even though T.I tried to portray himself as not being anti-gay, Rose said homophobia was embedded throughout his statement.
"The rhetoric that DaBaby used is inaccurate, hurtful and harmful to the LGBTQ community and the estimated 1.2 million Americans living with HIV," said GLAAD Associate Director of Communities of Color DaShawn Usher in a statement sent to Windy City Times. "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. 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."
DaBaby is slated to appear in Chicago on Aug. 1 at Lollapalooza; and at the PRYSM Nightclub, 1543 N. Kingsbury St.—the onetime site of Crobar.
