Advertisement

Nick Cannon sacked by ViacomCBS after ‘promoting hate speech and spreading anti-Semetic conspiracy theories’

Getty Images
Getty Images

ViacomCBS, the parent company of MTV, has parted ways with presenter Nick Cannon over comments made on his YouTube podcast.

The veteran star has fronted numerous shows for the media conglomerate, including NBC’s America’s Got Talent (from 2009 to 2016) and Fox’s recent hit The Masked Singer US.

However in a statement issued to Variety, ViacomCBS confirmed Cannon, 39, would no longer be working for them after comments including a claim that black people are “the true Hebrews.”

“It’s never hate speech, you can’t be anti-Semitic when we are the Semitic people,” Cannon said in the episode of Cannon’s class. "When we are the same people who they want to be. That’s our birthright. We are the true Hebrews.”

He also referenced unfounded conspiracy theories concerning the Rothschild family.

Masked Singer: Cannon with his colleagues, Jenny McCarthy, Ken Jeong and Robin Thicke (Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images)
Masked Singer: Cannon with his colleagues, Jenny McCarthy, Ken Jeong and Robin Thicke (Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images)

In their statement, ViacomCMS said it “condemns bigotry of any kind and we categorically denounce all forms of anti-Semitism.”

“We have spoken with Nick Cannon about an episode of his podcast ‘Cannon’s Class’ on YouTube, which promoted hateful speech and spread anti-Semitic conspiracy theories,” they continued. “While we support ongoing education and dialogue in the fight against bigotry, we are deeply troubled that Nick has failed to acknowledge or apologize for perpetuating anti-Semitism, and we are terminating our relationship with him.

“We are committed to doing better in our response to incidents of anti-Semitism, racism, and bigotry.”

When the backlash against his comments began, Cannon tweeted: “Anyone who knows me knows that I have no hate in my heart nor malice intentions. I do not condone hate speech nor the spread of hateful rhetoric. We are living in a time when it is more important than ever to promote unity and understanding.

“Until then, I hold myself accountable for this moment and take full responsibility because My intentions are only to show that as a beautiful human species we have way more commonalities than differences,

"So let’s embrace those as well as each other. We All Family!”