“This Fuels Stigma And Discrimination”: Elton John Slams DaBaby Over Homophobic Rant
DaBaby invited an audience to “put your cell phone light up” unless they were a gay man who “sucked d**k in the parking lot."
Elton John has joined the chorus of voices condemning DaBaby for his homophobic comments during a performance at Miami’s Rolling Loud festival.
During the performance, the ‘Suge’ singer invited the audience to “put your cell phone light up” unless they were a gay man who “sucked dick in the parking lot,” or had “showed up with HIV/AIDS … that will make you die in two, three weeks.”
The absurd and outdated comments were immediately met with widespread disapproval. Dua Lipa, who once collaborated with DaBaby, was the first to speak out, saying she was “horrified” by the comments. “We need to come together to fight the stigma and ignorance around HIV/AIDS,” Dua Lipa wrote in a statement.
Elton John’s comments are similar in tone, calling out the misinformation and homophobia of DaBaby’s remarks.
“This fuels stigma and discrimination and is the opposite of what our world needs to fight the AIDS epidemic,” John wrote on Twitter.
(1/5) We've been shocked to read about the HIV misinformation and homophobic statements made at a recent DaBaby show. This fuels stigma and discrimination and is the opposite of what our world needs to fight the AIDS epidemic.
The facts are: pic.twitter.com/MqCv3vWiz2
— Elton John (@eltonofficial) July 28, 2021
Elton John has been a peerless campaigner for a better understanding of the effects of AIDS, leading a foundation designed to dispel myths about the condition and encourage more support for those affected by it.
Elton John pulling up to shovel the last bit of dirt on to the casket for DaBaby’s music career pic.twitter.com/WmBs5LuvoX
— 🌻 Flores Boy 🌻 (@tomasflow7) July 28, 2021
In the hours since the controversy first erupted, DaBaby has experienced fallout in his professional career, getting dropped by the online fashion retailer Boohoo that he was once the face of.
He has now issued an official apology, writing that his comments were “insensitive” and that he had no intention of “offending anybody.”
Anybody who done ever been effected by AIDS/HIV y’all got the right to be upset, what I said was insensitive even though I have no intentions on offending anybody. So my apologies 🙏🏾
But the LGBT community… I ain’t trippin on y’all, do you. y’all business is y’all business.
— DaBaby (@DaBabyDaBaby) July 27, 2021
The apology is, all things considered, a weak one. Rather than fully embracing responsibility for his remarks, DaBaby has merely apologised for “offence caused.” That’s very different from acknowledging the hurt and damage caused, and seems like a way of hedging his bets. “Y’all business is y’all business,” is a way of deflating his comments, rather than acknowledging that acceptance and love is the way forward.