At least Nick Cannon will keep one of his jobs. The host of Wild n’ Out and The Masked Singer was fired by Viacom/CBS for statements made in a podcast. Cannon had worked with the company for over 20 years, hosting a number of programs.
In the podcast, Cannon mentioned a number of anti-Jewish conspiracy theories and spoke admiringly of Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan. Controversy over that podcast revealed comments where Nick said that the lack of melanin made white people “a little less” than people with darker skins. He also said that whites “are actually the true savages.”
Cannon’s response backlash over the statements was to claim he was just having academic discussions. “I encourage more healthy dialogue and welcome any experts, clergy, or spokespersons to any of my platforms to hold me accountable and correct me in any statement that I’ve made that has been projected as negative. “There’s no malice or negative intent, but in a time like 2020 we got to have these conversations.”
Out Of Several Jobs
Those statements and his refusal to apologize cost Cannon a lot of lucrative work.
Viacom issued a statement and said, ““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.”
No Apology
Cannon responded to the firing by demanding that CBS/Viacom give him ownership of Wild n’ Out. “If I have furthered the hate speech, I wholeheartedly apologize,” he wrote. “But now I am the one making demands. I demand full ownership of my billion dollar ‘Wild ‘N Out’ brand that I created. 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!”
Change Of Heart
Many speculated that Cannon would also lose his job hosting The Masked Singer on the FOX Network. But later in the evening, Cannon issued what he called “”Deepest and most sincere apologies to my Jewish sisters and brothers.”
Fox then issued a statement saying they believed Cannon had seen the error of his ways. ““When we were made aware of Nick Cannon’s interview with Richard Griffin on YouTube, we immediately began a dialogue with Nick,” the network said in a statement. “He is clear and remorseful that his words were wrong and lacked both understanding and context, and inadvertently promoted hate. This was important for us to observe. Nick has sincerely apologized, and quickly taken steps to educate himself and make amends. On that basis and given a belief that this moment calls for dialogue. We will move forward with Nick and help him advance this important conversation, broadly. Fox condemns all forms of hate directed toward any community and we will combat bigotry of any kind.”
