Nick Cannon Terminated By ViacomCBS
• Late Tuesday evening ViacomCBS announced it was terminating its relationship with entertainer Nick Cannon after it was revealed that Cannon had made anti-Semitic comments during the June 30 episode of his podcast, Cannon’s Class that featured former Public Enemy member Professor Griff. According to Variety, during the episode, Cannon said, among other things, that Black people are the “true Hebrews,” and talked about anti-Semitic conspiracy theories involving the Rothschild family. “It’s never hate speech, you can’t be anti-Semitic when we are the Semitic people,” Cannon said. “When we are the same people who they want to be. That’s our birthright. We are the true Hebrews.”
Cannon’s relationship with Viacom dates back to his Nickelodeon days in the mid-’90s when he was 17 years old. ViacomCBS is also the home of Cannon’s long-running MTV sketch comedy series Wild ‘N Out, which launched in 2005 and recently expanded to sister network VH1.
A statement from ViacomCBS read, “ViacomCBS condemns bigotry of any kind and we categorically denounce all forms of anti-Semitism. We have spoken with Nick Cannon about an episode of his podcast Cannon’s Class on YouTube, which promoted hateful speech and spread anti-Semitic conspiracy theories. While 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. We are committed to doing better in our response to incidents of anti-Semitism, racism, and bigotry. ViacomCBS will have further announcements on our efforts to combat hate of all kinds.”
Cannon Fires Back At ViacomCBS
On Monday, July 13 Cannon issued an apology of sorts, tweeting, “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.” Cannon also claimed he personally reached out to ViacomCBS Chair Shari Redstone “to have a conversation of reconciliation and actually apologize if I said anything that pained or hurt her or her community,” and received no response. ViacomCBS denies that Cannon had attempted to connect with Redstone.
However, hours after ViacomCBS formally cut ties with Cannon, he struck back — in a lengthy statement, posted to his Facebook page, titled “Truth and Reconciliation,” Cannon wrote, in part, “I am deeply saddened in a moment so close to reconciliation that the powers that be, misused an important moment for us to all grow closer together and learn more about one another. Instead the moment was stolen and highjacked to make an example of an outspoken black man. I will not be bullied, silenced, or continuously oppressed by any organization, group, or corporation. I am disappointed that Viacom does not understand or respect the power of the black community. Instead the moment was stolen and highjacked (sic) to make an example of an outspoken black man. I will not be bullied, silenced, or continuously oppressed by any organization, group, or corporation. I am disappointed that Viacom does not understand or respect the power of the black community.”
In closing, Cannon stated, “As for Viacom, who is now on the wrong side of history, I will continue to pray for you. I don’t blame any individual, I blame the oppressive and racist infrastructure. Systemic racism is what this world was built on and was the subject in which I was attempting to highlight in the recent clips that have been circulating from my podcast. If I have furthered the hate speech, I wholeheartedly apologize. But now I am the one making demands. I demand full ownership of my billion dollar Wild N Out brand that I created, and they will continue to misuse and destroy without my leadership! I demand that the hate and back door bullying cease and while we are at it, now that the truth is out, I demand the Apology!”
There’s been no word yet on whether Cannon’s very public termination by ViacomCBS — and the resulting PR damage — will affect his other gigs — he hosts Fox TV’s popular The Masked Singer, he does mornings at Meruelo Media Rhythmic KPWR (Power 106)/Los Angeles, and his Nick Cannon Radio is syndicated by Skyview Networks. Cannon is also slated to launch a syndicated daytime TV talk show in September. Stay tuned. [Image from Cannon’s Facebook page]
