Rapper DaBaby is receiving backlash over homophobic comments he made while performing at a festival in the US.
While performing at Rolling Loud Festival in Miami, DaBaby made hateful comments about people with HIV and gay men. So naturally, people aren’t happy.
During his set, he invited every audience member to “put your cell phone light up” apart from those who were HIV-positive or gay men who had sex in car parks.
He also claimed HIV would “make you die in two to three weeks“.
Rapper T.I. supported DaBaby’s comments, saying that if Lil Nas X, who regularly asserts his sexuality on stage, is able to say and do as he liked, then DaBaby should be able to do the same.
Essentially, the gay agenda shouldn’t silence blatant hate speech. Yeah, nah.
Dua Lipa, who collaborated with DaBaby on her “Levitating” remix, called him out on her Instagram stories, saying:
“I’m surprised and horrified at DaBaby’s comments. 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. We need to come together to fight the stigma and ignorance around HIV/AIDS.”
Dua Lipa after destroying DaBaby : pic.twitter.com/VIazZHRrmZ
— ☘︎Kacper࿎ ᱬ 🦋✨ WILL SEE ALY&AJ !!!!! (@Dua_Grimes) July 27, 2021
Following the backlash, the rapper took to social media to justify his comments: “What I do at a live show is for the live show. It’ll never translate correctly to somebody looking at a little five-, six-second clip from their crib on their phone.”
After accusing the internet of twisting his words, he claimed that his gay fans do not have Aids, and called people with the illness “nasty” and “junkies on the street“.
“Even my gay fans got standards,” he added.
this explains DaBaby’s behavior pic.twitter.com/qFcX6MvwA6
— Hurt CoPain (@SaeedDiCaprio) July 27, 2021
DaBaby’s PR team ain’t slept since 2019.
— Ahmed🇸🇴 (@big_business_) July 27, 2021
At one point, someone lobbed a shoe at the rapper during the set, though it’s unsure if that was connected to DaBaby’s comments.
Whoever threw that shoe at dababy, you are doing the Lords work. 👏🏽
— Jameson (@OnlyFans____) July 26, 2021
The UK’s leading HIV and Aids charity, the Terrance Higgins Trust (THT), also weighed in on the controversy.
“It’s wrong for people living with HIV to be made to feel lesser or excluded because of their diagnosis – it should be unacceptable in the music industry and in society at large,” said THT campaigns director, Richard Angell.
“Comments like DaBaby’s perpetuate HIV-related stigma and discrimination, as well as spreading misinformation about HIV.”
“You can now live a long, healthy life with HIV thanks to medical progress when you’re diagnosed and accessing treatment.”
DaBaby could have said, “yo, my bad” a good 36 hours ago and been straight. That’s what’s wild.
— Rae Sanni (@raesanni) July 27, 2021
