Celebrities are condemning DaBaby following his homophobic rant at the Rolling Loud Festival [1] on July 25. During the music event, the 29-year-old rapper encouraged fans 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 several other disgusting remarks about HIV/AIDS and the LGBTQ+ community.
DaBaby later issued a series statements on Twitter [2], backpedaling on his comments and trying to turn the situation into a race issue [3]. "Anybody who done ever been effected by AIDS/HIV y'all got the right to be upset, what I said was insensitive even though I have no intentions on offending anybody. So my apologies Folded hands," he wrote. In another tweet, he wrote, "& for any brands, networks, or artists that like to profit off of Black rappers influence on the culture, without understanding it or having the patience to deal with what comes with the position we play in our culture. Keep yo money next time."
Since DaBaby's homophobic rant, celebrities like Dua Lipa, Demi Lovato [4], and Elton John have taken to social media to criticise his remarks and condemn the misinformation he's spread about HIV/AIDS. DaBaby has also been dropped by fashion brand BoohooMAN.
Dua Lipa
Demi Lovato
Demi showed support for the LGBTQ+ community by reposting a gallery from queer activist and makeup artist Matt Bernstein's on her Instagram [5] that included an image that read "HIV is not a gay disease." "Hot people listen to the original version of levitating," Demi captioned it.
Madonna
"A message to DaBaby [6] — if you're going to make hateful remarks to the LGBTQ+ community about HIV/AIDS then know your facts," Madonna [7] wrote on Instagram on July 29 alongside a video of DaBaby's homophobic rant. "After decades of hard won scientific research — there are now life saving medicines available to children born with HIV, to people who contract HIV through blood transfusions, dirty needles or exchange of bodily fluids. These new ARV's can keep a person with AIDS alive for the rest of their lives!!! AID's is not transmitted by standing next to someone in a crowd. I want to put my cellphone lighter up and pray for your ignorance, No one dies of AIDS in 2 or 3 weeks anymore. Thank God."
In her caption, she also touched on the rapper's sexist remarks about women. "And your sexist remarks about Ladies who's p*ssies need to smell like water only encourage more discrimination against women who fight daily against the oppression of living under the constraints of the Male Gaze," she added. "People like you are the reason we are still living in a world divided by fear. All Human beings should be treated with dignity and respect regardless of race, gender, sexual preference or religious beliefs. AMEN."
Jonathan Van Ness
On July 26, the Queer Eye [8] star called out the spreading of misinformation, tweeting, "This stigma of HIV/AIDS is what is killing folks [9] & it's spread by this kind of misinformation that then people go believe #UequalsU."