DaBaby’s marathon of non-apologies continues.
On Wednesday afternoon, the 29-year-old rapper released the official music video for his latest track, “Giving What It’s Supposed to Give.” The visual concludes with a brief message addressing the controversy around his homophobic rant over the weekend at Rolling Loud Miami, where he propagated misinformation about HIV and AIDS.
“If you didn’t show up today with HIV, AIDS, any of them deadly sexually transmitted diseases that’ll make you die in two, three weeks, put your cellphone light up,” he told the crowd. “Fellas, if you ain’t suck a n***a dick in the parking lot, put your cellphone light up. Keep it fucking real.”
The comments ignited widespread backlash among his fellow artists, fans, and LGBTQ rights activists. Dua Lipa, who enlisted DaBaby for the “Levitating” remix, told fans she was “surprised and horrified” by the rapper’s comments: “I know my fans know where my heart lies and that I stand 100 percent with the LGBTQ community,” she wrote. “We need to come together to fight the stigma and ignorance around HIV/AIDS.”
Since then, many people have called on Dua to remove the DaBaby-assisted remix from streaming services. Some fans pointed out that DaBaby has been liking tweets slamming his “Levitating” feature.
The incident also prompted boohooMAN to cut ties with DaBaby, who had previously collaborated with the brand on an apparel collection.
Though he went on to apologize for his “insensitive” comments about HIV and AIDS, DaBaby has yet to express regret over his homophobic remarks. His video touches on the controversy with a final message that reads: “Don’t fight hate with hate. My apologies for being me the same way you want the freedom to be you.”
DaBaby said he filmed the video a day before his Rolling Loud performance, and suggested he wasn’t fazed by all the controversy: “It never seizes [sic] to amaze me the way God puts me in situations I’m already equipped to handle,” he wrote on Instagram.
You can read some of the reactions to DaBaby’s video message below.
