Entertainer Nick Cannon has offered a lengthy apology after creating a wave of controversy with anti-Jewish remarks in a recently published interview, but offered no mea culpa for similar inflammatory comments about white people.
“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,” Cannon said in the first of a series of tweets on Wednesday night, adding that he is “ashamed” his comments “reinforced the worst stereotypes of a proud and magnificent people.”
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. The video of this interview has since been removed.
Cannon landed himself in hot water earlier this week after posting an interview with rapper and former Public Enemy member Richard Griffin, believed to have been recorded sometime last year. In the clip, Cannon delved into a number of questionable theories, arguing African Americans are the “true Hebrews,” while suggesting the Rothschilds – a wealthy Jewish family that features prominently in a number of conspiracy theories – were part of a cabal seeking to control “everything, even outside of America.” The comments swiftly prompted his employer, ViacomCBS, to cut ties with the entertainer.
Wednesday’s apology marks a rapid reversal for Cannon, who less than a day prior penned a nearly 1,500-word Facebook post demanding that ViacomCBS apologize instead – saying the company was “on the wrong side of history” – and insisting on “full ownership” of the ‘Wild ‘n Out’ TV series he hosted and helped to create.
Receiving far less attention are Cannon’s provocative and equally questionable remarks about white people during the same interview, in which he described them as “savages” who are “actually closer to animals” and genetically programmed to be fearful of black people. While his bigoted comments about Jews were met with intense public backlash and condemnation, immediately leading to his firing, Cannon’s other claims were not even mentioned in ViacomCBS’ statement on the matter, nor by many others up in arms about his apparent anti-Semitism.
Some netizens did catch the hypocrisy, however, pointing out the double standards at work amid the scandal, while others were skeptical about the sincerity of Cannon’s apology.
Has @NickCannon apologized for calling Caucasians a savage, lesser race yet?
No word about your white brothers who are “less” and “savages”?
What about the part where you called white people “animals” and the “lesser race”? Apology not accepted.
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