Nick Cannon Apologizes for Anti-Semitic Remarks, Will Remain on ‘Masked Singer’
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After ViacomCBS fired Wild ‘N Out host Nick Cannon for anti-Semitic comments on his Cannon’s Class podcast, his fate at Fox has been decided.
Cannon will remain the host of The Masked Singer in Season 4, the network revealed. “When we were made aware of Nick Cannon’s interview with Richard Griffin on YouTube, we immediately began a dialogue with Nick,” Fox said in a statement. “He is clear and remorseful that his words were wrong and lacked both understanding and context, and inadvertently promoted hate. This was important for us to observe.
“Nick has sincerely apologized, and quickly taken steps to educate himself and make amends. 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,” the statement continued. “Fox condemns all forms of hate directed toward any community and we will combat bigotry of any kind.”
Cannon’s apology came Wednesday evening in a series of tweets, in which he also noted that the interview—a discussion with Public Enemy’s Richard “Professor Griff” Griffin about race and racism—has been removed. “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,” he wrote. “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.”
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.
— Nick Cannon (@NickCannon) July 16, 2020
“While the Jewish experience encompasses more than 5,000 years and there is so much I have yet to learn, I have had at least a minor history lesson over the past few days and to say that it is eye-opening would be a vast understatement,” Cannon continued.
“I want to express my gratitude to the Rabbis, community leaders and institutions who reached out to me to help enlighten me, instead of chastising me,” he concluded. “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.”
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.
— Nick Cannon (@NickCannon) July 16, 2020
After Cannon’s podcast, ViacomCBS ended its relationship with the host. His podcast “promoted hateful speech and spread anti-Semitic conspiracy theories,” according to the statement, and “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.”
“Systemic racism is what this world was built on and was the subject in which I was attempting to highlight in the recent clips that have been circulating from my podcast,” Cannon said in his initial response to being fired. “If I have furthered the hate speech, I wholeheartedly apologize.” He also said he wanted “full ownership of [his] billion dollar Wild ‘N Out brand.”
The Masked Singer is set to return for its fourth season in the fall. Cannon has hosted it since the beginning and also serves as an executive producer.
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