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DaBaby has landed in hot waters for making homophobic and discriminatory comments onstage. The rapper performed at the Rolling Loud Festival in Miami on Sunday, July 25th.
While interacting with fans, midway through the show, the singer hurled certain profanities against HIV-positive individuals and the LGBTQ+ community. Some of his statements were also allegedly sexist.
In an attempt to ask attendees to turn on flashlights for the gig, DaBaby said:
"If you didn't show up today with HIV, AIDS, or any of them deadly sexually transmitted diseases, that'll make you die in two to three weeks, then put your cellphone light up. Ladies, if your p**** smell like water, put your cellphone light up. Fellas, if you ain't sucking d*** in the parking lot, put your cellphone light up."
The comments caused massive online outrage, with several social media users immediately calling out the musician for his derogatory statements. DaBaby also faced criticism from the Terrence Higgins Trust, a charity organization that works towards HIV prevention and awareness.
In an interview with Pink News, Richard Angell, Campaigns Director of the Terrence Higgins Trust, called out DaBaby for his comments:
"Comments like DaBaby's perpetuate HIV-related stigma and discrimination, as well as spreading misinformation about HIV. You can now live a long, healthy life with HIV thanks to medical progress when you're diagnosed and accessing treatment. That's why it's important to challenge anything that deters people from testing and learning the facts about HIV."
Following the criticism, the 29-year-old took to Instagram to defend his actions, though his reply did not sit well with fans, earning him further backlash.
Twitter slams DaBaby for homophobic and discriminatory statements
The American rapper posted a series of videos on his Instagram story to address the controversial statements from the Rolling Loud Festival. However, he ended up calling out the online community in response:
"Imma address this weak-a** internet s*** one time, and then I'm a get back to giving my love to my fans. What me and my fans do at the live show, it don't concern you n****s on the internet, or you bitter b****es on the internet. It's not your business."
He also mentioned that the actions on his live shows cannot be rightly conveyed to people watching the gigs online:
"What I do at a live show is for the audience at the live show, it'll never translate correctly to someone looking a little five-six second clip from their goddamn crib on their phone. It just don't work like that."
He further accused the internet of "twisting" his words:
"Cause regardless of what you m*********ers talking about, how the internet done twisted up my m*********ing words, me and all my fans at the show, the gay ones and the straight ones, we turned the f*** up… The lights went up gay or straight, you wanna know why? 'Cause, even my gay fans don't got f*****g aids, stupid-a** n****s. They don't get aids, my gay fans they take care of themself. They ain't no nasty gay n****s, see what I'm saying? They ain't no junkies."
The nature of the response immediately backfired, leaving more fans enraged at the rapper. Netizens flocked to Twitter in large numbers and slammed DaBaby for his inappropriate words and behavior:
As severe backlash and heavy criticism against DaBaby continue to pour in online, it remains to be seen if the "Rockstar" singer will adequately address the situation in the days to come.
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