DaBaby surprisingly deleted his recent Instagram apology to the LGBTQ+ community, which he shared days after swift backlash came against him for his homophobic and HIV/AIDS remarks to the crowd at Rolling Loud Miami. While discussing their new WeTV series, Brat Loves Judy, rapper Da Brat and her partner Jesseca Dupart (who goes by Judy), spoke out about the drama. “You have to be careful what you say. You have to have accountability for what you say. And some people are not going to accept your apology,” Da Brat, who came out last March 2020, explained on the HollywoodLife Podcast. “He’s losing revenue. He’s losing shows. I’m sure he’s learned a very valuable lesson. Be careful what you say. You have to respect everybody, and who they love.”
Judy added to her girlfriend’s sentiments, saying, “You have to understand the responsibility of the role you have as a celebrity… you have to be mindful of the words you say.” During his set at the July 25th event at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, DaBaby, known for his hit song “Rockstar,” asked fans to “shine their cellphone flashlights” if they “didn’t show up today with HIV/AIDS, any of them deadly sexually transmitted diseases that will make you die in two to three weeks,” along with further crude comments about gay men and women.
Following the viral video, which garnered horrified statements from LGBTQIA+ celebrities like Elton John and Miley Cyrus, DaBaby addressed his remarks on Instagram Live, claiming gay and straight fans alike enjoyed his live show. Then, on Twitter, he said people living with AIDS and HIV have “the right to be upset” and that he had “no intentions on offending anybody.” He provided another Instagram apology, which has since been deleted, after being dropped from seven festivals and his partnership with the fashion brand boohoo.
“If you have an opinion, or you feel a certain way, maybe you should keep it to yourself before you offend somebody,” Da Brat advised. “Once you put yourself in front of that many people, you have so many more people that you can offend,” Judy continued. “You just have to be real mindful that it’s being a celebrity and being in front of all of those people. It has all these financial advantages, but then it comes with a huge responsibility.”
Tune in to Brat Loves Judy on WeTV, Thursdays at 8 PM ET and listen to our full podcast interview on Spotify.