DaBaby apologizes again for homophobic rant after losing more festival gigs
DaBaby is continuing to reap the consequences of his homophobic outburst as two more major music festivals have removed the scorned rapper from their lineups.
The organizers of New York City’s forthcoming Governors Ball released a statement Monday morning condemning “hate or discrimination of any kind,” along with an updated roster excluding the “Red Light, Green Light” artist.
Las Vegas’ Day N Vegas festival has also scrubbed the emcee from its lineup and replaced him with rapper and singer Roddy Ricch, who collaborated with DaBaby on the hit single “Rockstar.” Shortly thereafter, DaBaby issued a second, lengthier apology for his behavior.
DaBaby was previously dropped from the United Kingdom’s upcoming Parklife festival, as well as Chicago’s Lollapalooza this past weekend, after unleashing an offensive rant about gay people and HIV/AIDS last month at Miami’s Rolling Loud.
Founders Entertainment, which oversees the Governors Ball, “does not and will not tolerate hate or discrimination of any kind,” read a message shared on the event’s Instagram and Twitter pages Monday morning.
“We welcome and celebrate the diverse communities that make New York City the greatest city in the world. Thank you to the fans who continue to speak up for what is right. Along with you, we will continue to use our platform for good.”
DaBaby was slated to perform Sept. 24 at New York’s Citi Field among headliner Billie Eilish, Rüfüs Du Sol, Leon Bridges, Portugal. the Man and 24kGoldn on the first day of the weekend-long Governors Ball.
Rapper DaBaby has been cut from the final day of Lollapalooza’s lineup following crude and homophobic remarks he made last week at a Miami-area music festival.
Other acts tapped to participate in next month’s event include ASAP Rocky, J Balvin, Megan Thee Stallion, Phoebe Bridgers, Post Malone, 21 Savage, Ellie Goulding, Young Thug, Burna Boy and Carly Rae Jepsen. A “lineup addition” to replace DaBaby is coming, according to the Governors Ball team.
Before this week, DaBaby was also set to open the Day N Vegas festival Nov. 12 opposite YG, Ari Lennox, Polo G and headliner Kendrick Lamar. Other talent expected to take the stage that weekend include Travis Scott, Lil Baby, Doja Cat, Saweetie, Baby Keem, SZA, Lil Uzi Vert, Snoh Aalegra, Don Toliver and Tyler, the Creator.
Within hours of the festivals’ sudden set changes, DaBaby apologized again for his widely condemned Rolling Loud remarks.
“Social media moves so fast that people want to demolish you before you even have the opportunity to grow, educate, and learn from your mistakes,” the Grammy nominee wrote in a statement shared on Instagram Monday. The comment function has been disabled on the post.
“As a man who has had to make his own way from very difficult circumstances, having people I know publicly working against me — knowing that what I needed was education on these topics and guidance — has been challenging.”
In his initial response to the growing backlash, DaBaby doubled down on his comments and insisted that his words had been “twisted.” He later tweeted a brief apology, acknowledging that his speech was “insensitive” before promptly redirecting the conversation to police brutality and the commodification of Black culture.
That mea culpa was ill-received by many who accused him of using Black trauma as a shield to dodge accountability. The rapper’s misconduct also drew public criticism from several of his industry peers, including Elton John, Madonna and Dua Lipa, who featured him on her chart-topping single “Levitating.”
It appears rapper DaBaby will no longer join performers Megan Thee Stallion, Disclosure and Young Thug at the U.K.’s Parklife music festival.
“I appreciate the many people who came to me with kindness, who reached out to me privately to offer wisdom, education, and resources. That’s what I needed and it was received,” DaBaby continued in his Monday statement.
“I want to apologize to the LGBTQ+ community for the hurtful and triggering comments I made. Again, I apologize for my misinformed comments about HIV/AIDS and I know education on this is important. Love to all. God bless.”
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