DaBaby Is Apologizing (Again) For The Homophobic Rolling Loud Rant That Cost Him The Bag

In Hollywood, problematic stars are unfortunately often given nine lives even after saying and doing terrible things. But every once in a while, “cancel culture” (read: accountability) actually kicks in and forces the rich and famous to take responsibility for their actions. Case in point, DaBaby, whose pockets are now being hit with the repercussions of his disturbing Rolling Loud rant.

While performing at the 2021 Rolling Loud festival in Miami, the “Kirk” rapper went viral for a series of strange comments made onstage; the troubling and unnecessary diatribe singled out people with sexually transmitted diseases, gay men, and women. After footage from the event hit the internet and sparked outrage online, DaBaby issued an "apology" — but not really. 

"Anybody who done ever been effected by AIDS/HIV y’all got the right to be upset," he tweeted amidst the backlash. "What I said was insensitive even though I have no intentions on offending anybody. So my apologies."

"But the LGBT community... I ain’t trippin on y’all, do you," the tweet continued. "Y’all business is y’all business."

Outwardly, the hip hop newbie may seem unperturbed, but the immediate consequences for his Rolling Loud performance are definitely impacting his brand and his coins. In the days following the show, DaBaby has lost a number of major deals. Fashion brand Boohoo publicly ended their relationship with him. Lollapalooza dropped him from the lineup on the very last day of the festival, citing their founding values of diversity, inclusivity, respect, and love. The Governors Ball music festival, set to take place in September, announced that DaBaby would not be performing as part of their lineup. UK event Parklife cut him from the roster (though the rapper’s team claims that the decision was made months before Rolling Loud). The team behind Day N Vegas replaced his setlist with that of Roddy Ricch. Even the Working Families Party quickly removed him from the list of celebrity performers (including Saweetie and Wyclef Jean) to entertain guests at their upcoming benefit concert. 

Because the industry tends to let certain people — hi, Kanye! — get away with almost everything, it’s truly surprising when the ramifications of a celebrity’s actions are so immediate. But unlike some members of the “cancel club” who are penning lengthy soliloquies on Medium, it seems like DaBaby initially had little to no remorse for his behaviour. If anything, he was standing fiercely in what he believed was his right to say whatever he wanted, no matter how terrible and offensive it may be; DaBaby followed up the faux apology by releasing a song called “Giving What It’s Supposed To Give” (a truly ironic use of queer Black slang considering the circumstances) and proceeded to double down on his behaviour online, telling fans on Twitter to relax because he’s “cut like that” and even calling himself an “icon.” 

The speed with which his schedule freed up must have caused a stir behind the scenes, because the rapper has taken it upon himself to issue yet another apology for his behaviour at Rolling Loud. On Monday August 2, DaBaby shared a statement saying that he was sorry for what he said — but not before blasting the people who had called him out.

"Social media moves so fast that people want to demolish you before you even have the opportunity to grow, educate and learn from your mistakes," read DaBaby's post, which had the comments purposely turned off. "As a man who has had to make his own way from very difficult circumstances, having people I know publicly working against me -- knowing that what I needed was education on these topics and guidance -- has been challenging."

"I want to apologize to the LGBTQ+ community for the hurtful and triggering comments I made," concluded the statement. "Again, I apologize for my misinformed comments about HIV/AIDS and I know education on this is important."

Ultimately, DaBaby himself doesn't have to see the error of his ways if he doesn't want to. But in this scenario, being strong and wrong comes with swift and serious consequences, which means more financial opportunities being snatched away at will. Karma waits for no baby man.