LGBTQ Org Says It Was 'Grossly Misquoted' About Being OK With DaBaby Performing Again (UPDATE)

Relationship Unleashed CEO Gwendolyn D. Clemons reportedly said DaBaby should be allowed to perform live after the rapper took the time to educate himself.

DaBaby Performing at Rolling Loud NY
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Image via Getty/Astrida Valigorsky

DaBaby Performing at Rolling Loud NY

UPDATED 11/3, 9:49 a.m. ET: Relationship Unleashed and CEO Gwendolyn D. Clemons have spoken out about TMZ misrepresenting her emailed remarks on DaBaby.

“Our organization stands on strong principles of being defenders of the LGBTQIA Community and nothing has changed. … Today we were [engulfed] by the news outlet in a fire we did not start!” reads an Instagram post from Relationship Unleashed. “Our comments to a brief question was grossly misquoted and intentionally framed in a click baiting headline to drive traffic to TMZ. … We vehemently deny this assertion and the reporting does not align with our values or mission.”

The post says the organization has communicated numerous times with the TMZ producer it originally communicated with in an effort to get the outlet to “retract, correct, or delete this erroneous story.”

“Clemons stated that the writer completely disregarded many qualifying points she shared that nuanced the heart of the question about DaBaby. The greater points she shared were completely ignored, therefore resulting in an overall misleading story,” reads an additional post. “The changes TMZ asserted from our email [have] intentionally attempted to transform her from an insightful and thoughtful leader to an insensitive, irresponsible rogue voice for the LGBTQIA+ community, says Clemons.”

See original story below.

DaBaby could be back in the good graces of some members of the LGBTQ community, though the same might not be able to be said for Dave Chappelle.

The CEO for Relationship Unleashed, Gwendolyn D. Clemons, reportedly told TMZ her nonprofit approved of DaBaby’s recent performance at the New York installment of Rolling Loud, and that it would support any future live performances by the rapper.

This comes after Clemons confirmed that DaBaby sat down with her organization and other LGBTQ groups and educated himself on why his homophobic comments were problematic, and how the AIDS virus impacts even his hometown of Charlotte, North Carolina. Clemons said he really listened to them and was simply ignorant before, adding that he didn’t truly understand the impact of his homophobic comments at Rolling Loud Miami.

Relationship Unleashed isn’t extending the same pardon to Chappelle, who has shown he isn’t exactly apologetic about the remarks, which many deemed transphobic, that he made during his Netflix special The Closer. The comedian has said he isn’t transphobic, and Clemons believes that’s on purpose.

TMZ writes that the organization views Chappelle’s language as “hate speech disguised as comedy.”

Chappelle and DaBaby made headlines together recently, when the comedian mentioned the rapper in his Netflix special.

“I came here tonight because this body of work that I’ve done on Netflix, I’m going to complete,” Chappelle said. “All the questions you might have had about all these jokes I’ve said in the last few years, I hope to answer tonight. And I’d like to start by addressing the [LGBTQ] community directly. I want every member of that community to know that I come here tonight in peace and I hope to negotiate the release of DaBaby.”

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