Nick Cannon has been dropped by ViacomCBS for refusing to apologize for โperpetuating anti-Semitism.โ
The Wild โn Out host has worked on a variety of shows on the companyโs networks, including MTV and Nickelodeon, for decades and was even named chairman of TeenNick in 2009 but they have announced they are terminating their partnership following the backlash of a recent episode of his YouTube show Cannonโs Class, in which he and former Public Enemy member Richard โProfessor Griffโ Griffin discussed anti-Semitic conspiracy theories.

Nick said on the podcast, โThe people that donโt have [melanin] are a little less. They may not have had the compassion when they were sent to the mountains of Caucasus when they didnโt have the power of the sun. The sun then started to deteriorate them so then, theyโre acting out of fear, theyโre acting out of low self-esteem, theyโre acting out of a deficiency.โ
He added, โThey have to rob, steal, rape, kill in order to survive. So then, these people that didnโt have what we have โ and when I say we, I speak of the melanated people โ they had to be savages.โ Nick went on calling them โbarbaric,โ saying, โTheyโre acting as animals so theyโre the ones that are actually closer to animals. Theyโre the ones that are actually the true savages.โ

ViacomCBS said in a statement: โViacomCBS condemns bigotry of any kind and we categorically denounce all forms of anti-Semitism.โ
โWe have spoken with Nick Cannon about an episode of his podcast Cannonโs Class on YouTube, which promoted hateful speech and spread anti-Semitic conspiracy theories.

โWhile 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, and we are terminating our relationship with him.โ
โViacomCBS is committed to doing better in our response to incidents of anti-Semitism, racism, and bigotry.โ

Following the massive criticism, Nick took to his Facebook account to stress that he does not โcondone hate speech nor the spread of hateful rhetoric.โ
Here is Cannonโs full statement:
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.
The Black and Jewish communities have both faced enormous hatred, oppression persecution and prejudice for thousands of years and in many ways have and will continue to work together to overcome these obstacles.
When you look at The Media, and other sectors in our nationโs history, African Americans and The people of the Jewish community have partnered to create some of the best, most revolutionary work we know today.
I am an advocate for peopleโs voices to be heard openly, fairly and candidly. In todayโs conversation about anti-racism and social justice, I think we all โ including myself โ must continue educating one another and embrace uncomfortable conversations โ itโs the only way we ALL get better. I encourage more healthy dialogue and welcome any experts, clergy, or spokespersons to any of my platforms to hold me accountable and correct me in any statement that Iโve made that has been projected as negative. Until then, I hold myself accountable for this moment and take full responsibility because My intentions are only to show that as a beautiful human species we have way more commonalities than differences, So letโs embrace those as well as each other. We All Family!
Cannon has hosted Americaโs Got Talent and currently hosts The Masked Singer. Itโs not clear if this will affect his relationships with other networks, or if it will affect his planned syndicated talk show.
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