Following homophobic statements made onstage at last week’s Rolling Loud festival, DaBaby has been removed from the line-up of this year’s Parklife Festival in Manchester, England.
DaBaby’s name was initially listed on the Parklife lineup card for 2021, among Megan Thee Stallion, Disclosure, and Skepta; however, it is no longer listed on its website.
Video of the rapper saying, “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… Fellas, if you ain’t sucking dick in the parking lot, put your cellphone lighter up,” is the reason for Dababy’s removal from the Parklife lineup.
His comments definitely received backlash from many celebrities, including Dua Lipa, Elton John, and Madonna.
“The rhetoric that DaBaby used is inaccurate, hurtful, and harmful to the LGBTQ community and the estimated 1.2 million Americans living with HIV,” DaShawn Usher, GLAAD’s associate director of communities of color, said in a statement. “It is critical that DaBaby and his fans learn that people living with HIV today, when on effective treatment, lead long and healthy lives and cannot transmit HIV.”
He added, “While DaBaby has made haphazard attempts to ‘apologize,’ actions need to be taken for full accountability and changes to do better in the future. It further confirms what GLAAD reported last year in the State of HIV Stigma Study that stigma and misinformation around HIV are widespread, and there is much work to be done to educate the public, including entertainers.”
