Nick Cannon rehired as host of ‘Wild ‘N Out’ after apology for anti-Semitic remarks
MTV has reversed its decision to fire Nick Cannon as host of “Wild ‘N Out” after he apologized for anti-Semitic remarks he made on his podcast, “Cannon’s Class.”
Last July, MTV and its parent company, ViacomCBS, swiftly cut ties with Cannon over controversial comments he made during an interview with former Public Enemy rapper Richard Griffin, a.k.a. Professor Griff.
After lashing out at ViacomCBS, Cannon later issued an apology on social media and connected with several prominent Jewish community leaders, including Rabbi Abraham Cooper of Los Angeles’ Simon Wiesenthal Center, Jonathan Greenblatt of the Anti-Defamation League, Rabbi Noam E. Marans of the American Jewish committee and Rabbi Motti of Chabad Lubavitch World Headquarters.
“Nick has not only apologized and taken responsibility for his comments but he has also worked to educate himself and others through engagement with Jewish leaders and on his platforms,” wrote an MTV Entertainment Group representative in a statement emailed to The Times Friday.
“Those efforts are of the utmost importance, and that’s why we have invited him to rejoin our team.”
‘No group owns suffering,’ writes columnist LZ Granderson, in response to anti-Semitic remarks by TV host Nick Cannon and NFL star DeSean Jackson.
MTV also wished Cannon a “speedy recovery” after he tested positive for the novel coronavirus. According to Variety, Emmy-nominated actress Niecy Nash will temporarily fill in for Cannon as host of “The Masked Singer” until he is healthy enough to return during the competition program’s upcoming fifth season.
Unlike MTV, Fox opted over the summer to continue working with Cannon on “The Masked Singer,” despite mounting criticism surrounding the offensive episode of “Cannon’s Class.” The network commended Cannon at the time for “sincerely” atoning for his actions and cited internal conversations in which Cannon showed he was “remorseful.”
Cannon also revealed to Variety earlier this week that Fox has resumed development on his new daytime talk show, now set to debut in the fall, after it was paused following the “Cannon’s Class” controversy.
Cannon demanded full ownership of MTV’s ‘Wild ‘n Out’ and an apology from ViacomCBS, which cut ties with him over ‘anti-Semitic conspiracy theories.’
“First and foremost I extend my deepest and most sincere apologies to my Jewish sisters and brothers for the hurtful and divisive words that came out of my mouth during my interview with Richard Griffin,” Cannon tweeted in July shortly after the interview, which was promptly scrubbed from the internet.
“They reinforced the worst stereotypes of a proud and magnificent people, and I feel ashamed of the uninformed and naive place that these words came from. ... I want to assure my Jewish friends, new and old, that this is only the beginning of my education.”
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