In a statement posted to Instagram, Miley Cyrus spoke out against cancel culture and invited rapper DaBaby to have an open dialogue after the rapper has received backlash for his homophobic comments.
The post’s caption reads, “@DaBaby check your DMS — would love to talk and see how we can learn from each other and help be part of making a more just and understanding future!”
In her statement, Cyrus wrote, “As a proud and loyal member of the LGBTQIA+ community, much of my life has been dedicated to encouraging love, acceptance, and open mindedness. The internet can fuel a lot of hate & anger and is the nucleus of cancel culture… but I believe it can also be a place filled with education, conversation, communication & connection.”
Cyrus continued, “It’s easier to cancel someone than to find forgiveness and compassion in ourselves or take the time to change hearts and minds. There’s no more room for division if we want to keep seeing progress! Knowledge is power! I know I still have so much to learn.”
DaBaby is under fire for comments he made on July 25 at Rolling Loud, at which the rapper encouraged the audience to put their cell phone flashlights in the air if they “didn’t show up today with HIV/AIDS or any of them deadly sexually transmitted diseases that will make you die in two to three weeks,” among further derogatory remarks about HIV/AIDS and LGBTQ+ people.
After receiving social media backlash, DaBaby was pulled from his brand ambassador deal with Boohoo Man. His “Levitating” collaborator, Dua Lipa, also spoke out against him, along with other big names like Elton John.
Just three days after his Rolling Loud performance, DaBaby released a video for his new song, “Giving What It’s Supposed To Give,” which features the lyric, “We like AIDS… we on your ass, bitch, we won’t go away.”
The day of his scheduled Sunday performance at Lollapalooza, the festival announced in a tweet that DaBaby would no longer be performing. “Lollapalooza was founded on diversity, inclusivity, respect, and love. With that in mind, DaBaby will no longer be performing at Grant Park tonight,” the statement read.
DaBaby has also been dropped from other festivals, including Austin City Limits, Governor’s Ball, Day N Vegas, iHeartRadio Music Festival, Can’t Wait Live!, Music Midtown and Parklife Festival.
In an initial apology that came across as insincere to many fans, DaBaby admitted on Twitter that his remarks were “insensitive” but suggested that the comments had been “digested” wrong in another tweet. The rapper followed up with statements like “Apologies for being me.”
On Aug. 2, DaBaby offered another apology on Instagram, writing, “Social media moves so fast that people want to demolish you before you even have the opportunity to grow, educate, and learn from your mistakes. As a man who has had to make his own way from very difficult circumstances, having people I know publicly working against me — knowing that what I needed was education on these topics and guidance — has been challenging. I appreciate the many people who came to me with kindness, who reached out to me privately to offer wisdom, education, and resources. That’s what I needed and it was received.”