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Charlotte rapper DaBaby apologizes again for ‘hurtful’ comments about LGBTQ+ fans at show

Charlotte rapper DaBaby apologized to the LGBTQ+ community for the second time in a week for “hurtful and triggering” comments he made regarding HIV/AIDS at a recent music festival in Miami.

In an Instagram post, the “Suge” rapper apologized for his “misinformed comments” about HIV/AIDS at the Rolling Loud festival, and he said “he knows 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,” the rapper’s post said.

His apology comes a day after the Lollapalooza music festival in Chicago dropped him from the lineup.

Peers ‘surprised and horrified’

DaBaby, whose real name is Jonathan Lyndale Kirk, acknowledged his comments last week in a five-minute video posted to his Instagram account with 19.2 million followers and denounced critics who claimed he offended gay fans at the concert, the Observer previously reported.

“I said, ‘If you don’t got AIDS, put a cellphone lighter up ... All the lights went up – gay or straight – you wanna know why? Because even my gay fans don’t got AIDS. My gay fans, they take care of themselves ... They ain’t no junkies on the street,” he said in a video last week.

Other celebrities and musicians, including Elton John, Madonna and Dua Lipa, spoke out against the 29-year-old rapper’s comments.

Dua Lipa, who collaborated with DaBaby on the remix of her hit song “Levitating,” said in an Instagram story that she didn’t “recognize this as the person” she previously worked with.

“I’m surprised and horrified at DaBaby’s comments,” the British singer said. “I know my fans know where my heart lies and that I stand 100% with the LGBTQ community.”

John, the legendary singer, songwriter and HIV activist, posted a five-part tweet condemning DaBaby for his remarks.

“We’ve been shocked to read about the HIV misinformation and homophobic statements made at a recent DaBaby show,” John said. “This fuels stigma and discrimination and is the opposite of what our world needs to fight the AIDS epidemic.”

Dropped from events

DaBaby’s comments led to other events dropping him from their lineup, including boohooMAN and NYC’s Governors Ball.

“boohooMAN condemn the use of homophobic language and confirm we will no longer be working with DaBaby,” the event tweeted. “Diversity and inclusion are part of the boohoo Groups DNA and we pride ourselves on representing the diverse customers we serve across the globe.”

DaBaby also apologized at the end of the music video for his new song called “Give What It’s Supposed to Give,” which he released last Wednesday.

“My apologies for being me, the same way you want the freedom to be you,” he said at the end of the video. “Don’t fight hate with hate.”