DaBaby became a pariah following homophobic comments he made during his 2021 Rolling Loud performance in Miami.
Now, the “Suge” rapper has shared how that was a teachable moment for him. In a new episode of Club Shay Shay, DaBaby said his rant cost him at least $200 million over the last two years. But he seemed okay with it.
“The way that parked me,” DaBaby told Shannon Sharpe at around the 1:49:45 mark. “Who is to say where I would be mentally and spiritually had I not been forced to sit my ass down and self-reflect? ‘Cause I still didn’t sit down even when [the incident] took place. I’m fighting … ‘Hell nah, that ain’t what it is.’” He added, “‘Cause I’m a good fighter,’” explaining that God told him to, “‘Sit yo ass down.’”
He continued: “I don’t regret anything that I done been through. It feels so good to really be able say that and mean it. I done probably said that before but I ain’t mean it. It’s like ‘Boy I wish I had my $200 million, y’all robbed me.’ I don’t feel like that. … I really feel like that’s a blessing in disguise at this point in my life. I just came to that realization in the past two weeks. I really feel like I needed that season that I done had to endure. I needed that.”
In May, the North Carolina native spoke on the topic, telling The Shop Uninterrupted that he “absolutely” regretted how he handled the moment. “I’m gonna fight to the tooth and nail,” he explained. “My character and my intentions—that’s something I am never going to let you make me out, I’m not a bad person. I’m unfaltering on that.”
DaBaby’s star was skyrocketing when, in 2021, he made nasty remarks about the LGBTQIA+ community and sexually transmitted diseases.
“If you didn’t show up today with HIV, AIDS, or any of them deadly sexually transmitted diseases that’ll make you die in two to three weeks, then put your cellphone lighter up,” he told the audience. “Ladies, if your pussy smell like water, put your cellphone lighter up. Fellas, if you ain’t sucking dick in the parking lot, put your cellphone lighter up.”
The fallout was major, with several major music festivals severing ties with him, and artists like Dua Lipa, Elton John, and Questlove slamming him. He apologized in August 2021 via Instagram but deleted his post soon after.
