Nick Cannon apologises for hate speech: I feel ashamed

After Nick Cannon was dropped by ViacomCBS earlier this week for using anti-Semitic language in a podcast episode, now the popular host of Fox’s ‘The Masked Singer’ has apologised. 

In his apology, Nick Cannon said, "First and foremost I extend my deepest and most sincere apologies to my Jewish sisters and brothers for the hurtful and divisive words that came out of my mouth during my interview with Richard Griffin. They reinforced the worst stereotypes of a proud and magnificent people and I feel ashamed of the uninformed and naïve place that these words came from. The video of this interview has since been removed."

Meanwhile, Fox has maintained that Nick Cannon will remain as host. They issued a statement that read: "When we were made aware of Nick Cannon's interview with Richard Griffin on YouTube, we immediately began a dialogue with Nick. He is clear and remorseful that his words were wrong and lacked both understanding and context, and inadvertently promoted hate. This was important for us to observe. Nick has sincerely apologized, and quickly taken steps to educate himself and make amends. On that basis and given a belief that this moment calls for dialogue, we will move forward with Nick and help him advance this important conversation, broadly. Fox condemns all forms of hate directed toward any community and we will combat bigotry of any kind."

Nick Cannon had used “hate speech” in an episode of his Class podcast. He had called Black people "the true Hebrews" and discussed anti-Semitic conspiracy theories with Richard Griffin, who was pushed out of Public Enemy in the late 1980s after making homophobic and anti-Semitic comments in media interviews.

In his defense, Nick said, "It's never hate speech. You can't be anti-Semitic when we are the Semitic people, when we are the same people who they want to be. That's our birthright. We are the true Hebrews."

This is what Nick Cannon elaborated in his apology post on Facebook: 

First and foremost I extend my deepest and most sincere apologies to my Jewish sisters and brothers for the hurtful and divisive words that came out of my mouth during my interview with Richard Griffin. They reinforced the worst stereotypes of a proud and magnificent people and I feel ashamed of the uninformed and naïve place that these words came from. The video of this interview has since been removed.

While the Jewish experience encompasses more than 5,000 years and there is so much I have yet to learn, I have had at least a minor history lesson over the past few days and to say that it is eye-opening would be a vast understatement.

I want to express my gratitude to the Rabbis, community leaders and institutions who reached out to me to help enlighten me, instead of chastising me. I want to assure my Jewish friends, new and old, that this is only the beginning of my education—I am committed to deeper connections, more profound learning and strengthening the bond between our two cultures today and every day going forward.