Nick Cannon Anti-semitism Controversy

Overview

Nick Cannon Anti-semitism Controversy refers to comments made by television personality Nick Cannon on his podcast in which he shared a theory that people with melanin were compassionate and that white person, Jews and "the Illuminati" were "a little less" because they don't have that and developed in harsher climates. He also argued that Black people can't be anti-semitic because Black people are "the real Semites."

Background

On June 30th, 2020, Cannon was speaking to Richard Griffin, aka Professor Griff, who left Public Enemy in 1989 after making anti-semitic statements. In the interview, Cannon began teasing out a theory that Black people had more compassion than white people due to the melanin in Black people's skin that came as a result of living in warm climates. He used the word "they" to describe "white people, Jews, the Illuminati." At one point he said:

So, therefore, the only way that they can act is evil. They have to rob, steal, rape, kill in order to survive. So then, these people that didn’t have what we have – and when I say 'we,' I speak of the melanated people – they had to be savages. … They’re acting as animals so they’re the ones that are actually closer to animals. They’re the ones that are actually the true savages.

He also stated that Black people could not be anti-semitic because they are "the real Semites." His comments were compared to beliefs of the Black Hebrew Israelites,^[1][2] a group certified as a hate group by the ADL.^[3]

Developments

Cannon apologized on July 13th, 2020, for his comments, writing,^[5] "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."

On July 15th, Cannon was fired from Viacom^[4] as a result of his comments. Cannon was the co-chair of TeenNick and had been hosting MTV's "Wild N' Out." In a lengthy statement on Facebook,^[6] Cannon echoed his apology and said he attempted to apologize to Viacom, but he heard nothing in return other than getting fired. He then said that ViacomCBS "wanted to show me who is boss, hang me out to dry and make an example of anyone who says something they don’t agree with."

Cannon was not fired from his position as host of Fox's The Masked Singer.^[7] Fox stated, "When we were made aware of Nick Cannon's interview with Richard Griffin on YouTube, we immediately began a dialogue with Nick. He is clear and remorseful that his words were wrong and lacked both understanding and context, and inadvertently promoted hate. This was important for us to observe. Nick has sincerely apologized, and quickly taken steps to educate himself and make amends."

Nick Cannon trended on Twitter throughout July 15th for the controversy.^[8] Cannon stepped back from his YouTube podcast on July 16th to "reflect."^[9]

Search Interest

External References