Maybe DaBaby changed his mind about his apology to the queer community, or he decided that he actually didn’t want people to teach him about HIV/AIDS when Miley Cyrus offered to help him, or maybe it simply clashed with his feed Whatever the reason, Jonathan Lyndale Kirk, or rapper DaBaby, deleted his apology to the LGBT+ community on Instagram one week after posting it.
DaBaby issued his apology on August 2, after a week of hemorrhaging festival gigs, including Lollapalooza, Austin City Limits Music Festival, Governors Ball, Day N Vegas, Music Midtown, and iHeartRadio Music Festival. In it, he (or his PR team) wrote, “I want to apologize to the LGBTQ+ community for the hurtful and triggering comments I made,” and reflected on his need to further educate himself on the subject at hand.
During his Rolling Loud Miami set, instead of a simple “Thank you for coming and supporting me and my music,” the rapper launched into a little diatribe about sexual transmitted diseases. “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,” he told his fans. Followed by, “Fellas, if you ain’t sucking dick in the parking lot, put your cellphone lighter up!” Later on Instagram, he made sure to clarify that his LGBT+ fans aren’t “nasty gay n——as” or “junkies,” in response to widespread outrage.
In addition to his loss of billed performances, radio airplay of Dua Lipa’s remix of “Levitating” featuring the rapper is down significantly. DaBaby’s been silent on Twitter since July 30, but on Instagram it’s business as usual with videos from his latest release, “Giving What It’s Supposed To Give,” which was released just days after his remarks at Rolling Loud and makes reference to AIDS in the music video.