DaBaby (29) is under fire for statements about HIV and gays he made at a festival in Miami. During his performance, the American rapper asked everyone in attendance to turn on the light on their mobile phones except for gays “having sex in parking garages” or those who are HIV-positive. He also claimed that people with HIV ‘die within two or three weeks’.
On social media, the statements have gone down the wrong way with many people. Fragments are widely shared.
DaBaby says on Instagram that his words have been twisted on the internet and that he is loved by both straight and gay. According to the rapper, his gay fans do not have AIDS, but the disease is ‘dirty’ and for ‘junkies on the street’. “Even my gay fans have standards,” the artist said.
DaBaby, best known for his hit ‘Rockstar’ with Roddy Ricch and the remix of ‘Levitating’ with Dua Lipa, has also been criticized for choosing his guests at the festival. He performed after Megan Thee Stallion and brought her ex-boyfriend Tory Lanez on stage. Last August, Megan accused Tory of shooting her in both feet.
“I really don’t recognize this as the person I’ve worked with. I know that my fans know where my heart is and that I support the LGBTI community. We need to come together to fight the stigma and ignorance surrounding HIV and AIDS,” said Dua Lipa on Instagram.
The clothing brand Boohoo, with whom DaBaby has a collaboration, also distances itself from his statements. The statements go against the company’s “core values,” a spokesperson told Newsbeat . Boohoo is now reconsidering whether the collaboration will continue.
DaBaby thinks the reactions to statements he made during a performance on Sunday evening are greatly exaggerated. “I ask fans to turn on their phone lights and you immediately start a protest march,” he said on Twitter on Tuesday.
In a subsequent tweet, he partially apologized on Tuesday. “Anyone affected by HIV/AIDS, you have a right to be angry with me because what I said was insensitive even though I didn’t mean to offend anyone. So my apologies for that.’
However, he does not owe the LGBTQ community anything, DaBaby tweeted. ‘I’m not attacking you at all, do what you want. Your business is your business.’ The rapper also seems to lash out at Boohoo, a clothing company he works with that publicly distanced himself from his words. “To any brand, channel or artist that wants to take advantage of the influence black rappers have on culture, without wanting to understand it: save your money next time.”
