“We all know the stereotypes”: America’s Got Talent Host Nick Cannon Calls Anti-Semitic Past a “Growth Moment”
Nick Cannon recently addressed a very controversial moment from his past. For the unversed, Kanye West is not the first man to face huge losses for making anti-semitic statements, Cannon did it first. Back in 2020, the She Ball actor faced a lot of backlash for being offensive and anti-semitic on his podcast and YouTube show, Cannon’s Class.
In addition to being heavily called out, the host also saw ViacomCBS cut ties with him which eventually led to the cancellation of Wild ‘N Out, an MTV show he had created and was running since 2005.
Nick Cannon calls his anti-semitism controversy a “growth moment”
Nick Cannon recently did an interview with AllHipHop, where he was asked if his 2020 controversy taught him anything. The Nick Cannon Show host replied,
“Man, I’m going to be super honest with you. That process was a growth moment for me, on so many levels as a man. And I even now, we have a podcast, myself and the CEO of the ADL, Jonathan Greenblatt, called ‘Solutions: To Hate or Not To Hate’. And it’s really talking about the equation of our two communities from two different perspectives. We voice our side, or the perspective as a Black man, and then he voices his side from a Jewish man.”
According to the 42-year-old, communication is key when it comes to tackling the issue of identities and racial stereotypes. He added,
“Just even that alone is helpful and educational for both communities. And again, because that’s the thing, we can sit up here and be enraged, but if we don’t engage, what are we really doing, if we can’t even learn from one another? And clearly, we all know the issues, we all know the tropes, we all know the stereotypes. It’s just about bringing people closer together. Ultimately, nobody’s monolithic, but we’re all one organism that allows this thing to keep pumping.”
Some fans have called it a way to brush off the drama but it was too big of a big deal to be easily forgotten.
Nick Cannon’s show was canceled in the aftermath of the anti-semitic statements
The Cannon’s Class podcast that stirred up the hullabaloo had Cannon interviewing Richard Griffin, or Professor Griff. Griffin was a member of the popular rap group Public Enemy but he was kicked out in 1989. The reason being that in an interview with The Washington Times, he had reportedly claimed that Jews were the reason “for the majority of wickedness that goes on across the globe”.
Throughout the podcast, both Cannon and Griffin indulged in anti-Semitic conspiracy theories. The Misfits actor even asked why “we give so much power to the ‘theys,’ and ‘theys’ turn into illuminati, the Zionists, the Rothschilds.”
Following the hate that Cannon received for his offensive statements, ViacomCBS issues a statement that said,
