Nick Cannon will remain the host of Fox’s The Masked Singer, the network announced Wednesday, one day after ViacomCBS severed ties with the TV star for making anti-Semitic remarks on his podcast. Cannon, who apologized to the Jewish community on Wednesday, also issued a second statement that same night, apologizing for spreading “hateful propaganda and stereotypical rhetoric.”
“I extend my deepest and most sincere apologies to my Jewish sisters and brothers for the hurtful and divisive words that came out of my mouth during my interview with Richard Griffin,” Cannon wrote on Facebook and Twitter.
Fox issued a statement of its own, noting that the network “immediately began a dialogue with Nick” after his anti-Semitic remarks went viral.
“He is clear and remorseful that his words were wrong and lacked both understanding and context, and inadvertently promoted hate,” the statement read, per Variety. “This was important for us to observe. Nick has sincerely apologized, and quickly taken steps to educate himself and make amends. On that basis and given a belief that this moment calls for dialogue, we will move forward with Nick and help him advance this important conversation, broadly. Fox condemns all forms of hate directed toward any community and we will combat bigotry of any kind.”
Cannon is a host and executive producer on The Masked Singer, a singing reality-competition series. He is also set to headline the syndicated daytime talk show Nick Cannon, which, prior to the controversy, was slated to premiere this September on CBS and Fox affiliates. It’s unclear if any changes have been made in the wake of the scandal.
Cannon sparked backlash after a recent episode of his podcast, Cannon’s Class, in which he interviewed guest Richard Griffin, a former member of Public Enemy. Cannon espoused anti-Semitic rhetoric on the podcast, spreading conspiracy theories about the Rothschild family, touting the words of Nation of Islam leader and noted anti-Semite Louis Farrakhan, and claiming Black people are the “true Hebrews.”
“You can’t be anti-Semitic when we are the Semitic people,” Cannon said. “When we are the same people who they want to be. That’s our birthright.”
ViacomCBS quickly announced it was cutting ties with Cannon, who has worked on various shows for networks like Nickelodeon and MTV for two decades. He was also the chairman of TeenNick. Cannon responded by issuing an apology on Facebook to the Jewish community, but demanding that the company hand him the rights to his popular, long-running comedy series Wild ’N Out. He also claimed that ViacomCBS chair Shari Redstone ignored him when he reached out to make amends. A representatives for ViacomCBS said it was “absolutely untrue” that Cannon had reached out to Redstone.
In his second apology, posted on Twitter and Facebook, Cannon said he had spoken to Jewish leaders like Rabbi Abraham Cooper of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, a human rights organization. “While the Jewish experience encompasses more than 5,000 years and there is so much I have yet to learn, I have had at least a minor history lesson over the past few days and to say that it is eye-opening would be a vast understatement,” Cannon wrote.
“I want to assure my Jewish friends, new and old, that this is only the beginning of my education,” he continued. “I am committed to deeper connections, more profound learning and strengthening the bond between our two cultures today and every day going forward.”
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