Nick Cannon finally apologized for his anti-Semitic remarks in a series of tweets Wednesday evening, telling fans: 'I feel ashamed' - but he failed to address calling white people 'evil, rapists and savages'.
ViacomCBS cut ties with the actor Tuesday after his controversial comments during an episode of his talk show 'Cannon's Class' on YouTube on June 30. Fox confirmed Wednesday evening he would still be the host of hit show The Masked Singer.
Cannon made the statements made during an interview with former Public Enemy member Professor Griff, real name Richard Griffin, who was kicked out of the rap group in 1989 for saying Jewish people 'were responsible for the majority of the wickedness in the world'.
Apologizing to the Jewish community Wednesday evening Cannon said: '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.
'They reinforced the worst stereotypes of a proud and magnificent people and I feel ashamed of the uninformed and naïve place that these words came from. The video of this interview has since been removed.'
He later added: 'On my podcast I used words & referenced literature I assumed to be factual to uplift my community instead turned out to be hateful propaganda and stereotypical rhetoric that pained another community For this I am deeply sorry but now together we can write a new chapter of healing.'
But he failed to address his comments saying that white people of the past were 'savages' and 'barbaric'.
ViacomCBS cut ties with Nick Cannon after the actor made anti-white remarks and spread anti-Semitic conspiracy theories during an episode of his 'Cannon's Class' talk show on YouTube
The Masked Singer host Nick Cannon, left, and Bow Wow, right, appear on the show's season finale episode in May
Nick Cannon finally apologized for his anti-Semitic remarks in a series of tweets Wednesday evening
Confirming Cannon would still be the host of hit show The Masked Singer Fox 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.'
Radio personality Charlamagne tha God had earlier said Cannon's firing from ViacomCBS has proved 'Jews have the power'. The Breakfast Club host weighed in on the controversy after Cannon was accused of spreading anti-Semitic conspiracy theories and said white people were 'evil' and 'true savages' on his podcast.
'Nick is my guy. I hate it had to be him, but that's what you can do when you have the power,' Charlamagne said on Wednesday. 'And if there's one thing Jewish people have showed us, it's that they have the power.
'I can't wait until the day black people are able to fire people for saying things about us that we deem racist. We can barely get cops fired for actually killing us,' he added.
Charlamagne noted that while Cannon was entitled to free speech, he was not 'free of the consequences of that speech.' He said the actor could have benefited from having a 'Jewish scholar' or rabbi present to correct any of his inaccurate remarks during the discussion.
He backed up Cannon's comments that white people of the past were 'savages' and 'barbaric', saying said it would be 'inaccurate' to say they did not 'have a history of mass racial violence' in America.
'Racial violence has been a distinct part of this country since 1660 and that's a fact. I don't even have to begin to run down the long list of violent, murderous, savage acts from white people in this country,' he said.
In his apology Wednesday evening Cannon wrote: 'I want to assure my Jewish friends, new and old, that this is only the beginning of my education—I am committed to deeper connections, more profound learning and strengthening the bond between our two cultures today and every day going forward.
'While the Jewish experience encompasses more than 5,000 years and there is so much I have yet to learn, I have had at least a minor history lesson over the past few days and to say that it is eye-opening would be a vast understatement.
'I want to express my gratitude to the Rabbis, community leaders and institutions who reached out to me to help enlighten me, instead of chastising me.'
He later added: 'I just had the blessed opportunity to converse with Rabbi Abraham Cooper director of global social action @SimonWiesenthal My first words to my brother was, I apologize for the hurt I caused the Jewish Community....'
Cannon's termination has sparked debate on social media as some say he was rightfully dismissed after he claimed black people were the true Hebrews and that Jews have usurped their identity.
Despite the fallout, a number of celebrities have voiced their support for the TV producer on social media, including Diddy and former NBA star Dwyane Wade.
Diddy, real name Sean Combs, offered Cannon a spot at his Revolt TV network on Wednesday, inviting him to 'come home' to a 'truly black-owned' media company.
'The only way we can change the narrative, educate, and uplift each other is if we do it together. Nick, my brother, I am here to support you fully in any way you need. What we are not going to do is turn our backs on our brothers and sisters when they challenge the system,' Combs said in an Instagram post.
'Come home to @REVOLTTV, which is truly BLACK OWNED! We got your back and love you and what you have done for the culture.'
Dwyane Wade also tweeted his support for Cannon, but later took down the post after he was criticized for backing his controversial remarks. 'We are with you, keep leading!' he said in the now-deleted tweet.
Breakfast Club host Charlamagne tha God, left, weighed in on the controversy on Wednesday, saying Nick Cannon's firing proved 'Jews have the power'. Diddy, right, offered Cannon a spot at his Revolt TV network on Wednesday, inviting him to 'come home' to a 'truly black-owned' media company
Former NBA star Dwyane Wade was among those who voiced their support for Cannon in the wake of the fallout but has since deleted his tweet
The View host Sunny Hostin said she was shocked to see anti-Semitism in black people since Jewish people have been allies in their fight for civil rights
The controversy has sparked debate on social media as some said Cannon was wrong for painting white people as sub human
Wade was slammed for tweeting his support for the actor after critics said he was backing Cannon's offensive comments on white people and Jews
Wade then tweeted: 'I want to clarify my now deleted tweet. I was not supporting or condoning what Nick Cannon specifically said, but I had expressed my support of him owning the content and brand he helped create.'
He later added: 'I was too quick to respond without being fully informed about his hurtful anti-Semitic remarks. As you all know I have ZERO tolerance for any hate speech!'
Cannon's comments drew criticism from The View host Sunny Hostin, who said she was shocked to see anti-Semitism in black people since Jewish people have been allies in their fight for civil rights.
'I'm always surprised when you hear, especially someone that's African American, spout anti-Semitism because there is such a long history… of Jewish people in the Civil Rights Movement being such allies to African Americans,' she said.
'I don't quite understand [how] someone who is a member of an oppressed group and would spout anything that would be anti-Semitic, or homophobic, or racist.
'It just doesn't connect with me and I'm disappointed when I hear something like that from Nick Cannon...I think it's unacceptable.'
Cannon had issued a follow-up statement in which he claimed ViacomCBS was on 'the wrong side of history' and wanted to 'make an example of an outspoken black man.'
He also demanded full ownership of his Wild 'N Out show which he accused the media giant of 'swindling away' from him and claimed it had banned all advertisements supporting George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.
ViacomCBS responded to the claims in a statement saying: 'Due to the comedic nature of the show we believe is in question 'Revenge Prank,' we didn't want to be insensitive by placing ads for it next to important and serious topics, such as Black Lives Matter. This is standard practice we use with our media agency to ensure that our ads don't come across as tone-deaf or disrespectful.'
In the June 30 episode, Cannon sat down with former Public Enemy member Professor Griff and claimed black people are the 'true Hebrews' and spoke out about the Rothschild family and 'the bloodlines that control everything even outside of America'
Former Public Enemy member Richard 'Professor Griff' Griffin was kicked out of the rap group in 1989 after saying Jews were 'wicked' and were responsible for the majority of the wickedness in the world'
During a discussion on racial bias The Masked Singer host said black people were robbed of their 'birthright' and that they are the real 'children of Israel.'
He also delved deep into anti-Semitic tropes - ranting about history 'going as deep as the Rothschilds, centralized banking, the 13 families, the bloodlines that control everything even outside of America.'
The two discussed the controversial racial ideology of the Black Hebrew Israelites - claiming that 'Semitic' people had nothing to do with being white and that the term 'anti-Semitic' is only used to 'divide' people.
'You can't be anti-Semitic when we are the Semitic people. When we are the same people who they want to be. That's our birthright. We are the true Hebrews,' Cannon said.
During the hour-plus podcast, Cannon then moved onto a wider discussion on race saying white people of the past were 'savages' and 'barbaric' because they lacked the 'compassion' that comes with melanin or skin pigmentation.
Cannon (pictured with ex-wife Mariah Carey and their twins, Monroe and Moroccan in 2017) became chairman and creative consultant of Nickelodeon's TeenNick channel in 2009
'And I'm going to say this carefully...,' he said before claiming that people who do not have melanin are a 'little less'.
'They're acting out of fear, they're acting out of low self-esteem, they're acting out of a deficiency,' he said. 'So, therefore, the only way that they can act is evil. They have to rob, steal, rape, kill in order to survive.'
'They're the ones that are actually closer to animals, they're the ones that are actually the true savages,' Cannon said, adding that he was referring to 'Jewish people, white people, Europeans,' among others.
The controversial episode, which was reportedly filmed last year, aired two weeks ago but resurfaced over the weekend drawing widespread backlash.
On Tuesday, ViacomCBS announced it was cutting ties with Cannon for 'promoting hateful speech.'
'ViacomCBS condemns bigotry of any kind and we categorically denounce all forms of anti-Semitism,' the company said in a statement.
'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.'
Cannon had earlier responded to his firing in a lengthy statement on Facebook in which he said he did not condone hate speech but refused to say he was sorry.
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