Nick Cannon
Photo Credit: CNN
On July 14, 2020, Deadline.com reported that ViacomCBS dropped Nick Cannon’s podcast, “Cannon’s Class” after he made what they considered “hateful speech and “anti-semitic conspiracy theories” during an episode. The podcast also aired on YouTube, that airs on YouTube. The “Cannon’s Class” continues to air on YouTube and has 391K subscribers.
The podcast is about “all things Cannon,” and recently has been focusing on racism, white supremacy, and the police. Nick’s video, “I Can’t Breathe, Again!” went viral after COVID-19 broke out and the racial protests started after the murder of George Floyd.
According to the Deadline.com article, Nick made comments on racism, sharing that people who have “the lack of pigment” are “a little less” than those who do, and have “a lack of compassion.” He continued, “They’re acting out of fear. They’re acting out of low self esteem. They’re acting out of a deficiency. So therefore the only way they can act is evil. They have to rob, steal, rape and [unintelligible] in order to survive.” He then shared, that Black people are the “true Hebrews.”
ViaccomCBS issued the following statement to Deadline:
ViacomCBS condemns bigotry of any kind and we categorically denounce all forms of anti-Semitism. We have spoken with Nick Cannon about an episode of his podcast ‘Cannon’s Class’ on YouTube, which promoted hateful speech and spread anti-Semitic conspiracy theories. 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 [Nick has since issued an apology], and we are terminating our relationship with him. We are committed to doing better in our response to incidents of anti-Semitism, racism, and bigotry. ViacomCBS will have further announcements on our efforts to combat hate of all kinds.
Cannon shared with Facebook and Twitter: “Anyone who knows me knows that I have no hate in my heart nor malice intentions,” “I do not condone hate speech nor the spread of hateful rhetoric. We are living in a time when it is more important than ever to promote unity and understanding.”
He also specifically apologized to the Jewish community: "I must apologize to my Jewish Brothers and Sisters for putting them in such a painful position, which was never my intention, but I know this whole situation has hurt many people and together we will make it right," he wrote. "I have dedicated my daily efforts to continuing conversations to bring the Jewish Community and the African American community closer together, embracing our differences and sharing our commonalities."
Nick Cannon’s podcast, “Cannon’s Class” continues to air on YouTube, and he remains the host of "The Masked Singer" following his apology for recent anti-Semitic remarks.