Rapper DaBaby has apologized for the comments he made about gay men and HIV during a performance at a Miami music festival.
Rapper DaBaby was facing widespread criticism from musicians, members of the LGBTQ+ community and allies. for comments he made about people living with HIV/AIDS. Elton John, Madonna, Questlove and Dua Lipa were among those who spoke out against his comments, which were made during his set at the Rolling Loud music festival in Miami last month.
“I want to apologize to the LGBTQ+ community for the hurtful and triggering comments I made,” Rapper DaBaby wrote in his Instagram page. “Again, I apologize for my misinformed comments about HIV/AIDS and I know education on this is important.”
“Social media moves so fast that people want to demolish you before you even have the opportunity to grow, educate and learn from your mistakes,” he wrote. “As a man who has had to make his own way from very difficult circumstances, having people I know publicly working against me — knowing that what I needed was education on these topics and guidance — has been challenging.”
He added: “I appreciate the many people who came to me with kindness, who reached out to me privately to offer wisdom, education and resources. That’s what I needed and it was received.”
DaBaby, known for his hit song “Rockstar” and for being featured in Dua Lipa’s “Levitating,” asked fans Sunday night at the Rolling Loud music festival in Miami to shine their cellphone flashlights if they “didn’t show up today with HIV/AIDS, any of them deadly sexually transmitted diseases that will make you die in two to three weeks,” along with further crude comments about gay men and women, according to a now-viral video.
The rapper addressed his remarks Monday on Instagram Live, claiming gay and straight fans alike enjoyed his live show. Then, on Twitter, he said people living with AIDS and HIV have “the right to be upset” and that he had “no intentions on offending anybody.”
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