ViacomCBS is ending its long relationship with Nick Cannon after he made anti-Semitic comments on his podcast.
On the June 30 episode of “Cannon’s Class,” the actor and television presenter interviewed Professor Griff, a rapper who was part of Public Enemy before leaving the group after making anti-Semitic comments.
On the podcast, Cannon said blacks are the “true Hebrews” and spoke about anti-Semitic conspiracy theories involving the Rothschild family.
“It is never a hate speech, you cannot be anti-Semitic when we are Semitic people,” Cannon said. “When we are the same people they want to be. That is our birthright. We are the true Hebrews. “
A ViacomCBS spokesperson issued a statement to Variety, saying that the company’s relationship with Cannon has now ended.
“ViacomCBS condemns intolerance of any kind and we categorically denounce all forms of anti-Semitism. We’ve spoken to Nick Cannon about an episode of his ‘Cannon’s Class’ podcast on YouTube, which promoted hate speech and spread anti-Semitic conspiracy theories. While we support ongoing education and dialogue in the fight against bigotry, we are deeply concerned that Nick has not recognized or apologized for perpetuating anti-Semitism, and we are ending our relationship with him. We are committed to improving our response to incidents of anti-Semitism, racism and intolerance. ViacomCBS will have more announcements about our efforts to combat hate of all kinds, “the company said.
On Monday, Cannon said on Twitter and Facebook that “he has no hatred in my heart and no malicious intent” and he does not approve of the hate speech. He also said that he considers himself “responsible for this moment” and assumes all responsibility for his actions.
Cannon has had a relationship with Viacom since he was an actor on Nickelodeon in the 1990s. He also hosted the comedy show “Wild ‘n Out,” which has aired on MTV and VH1 since 2005. Most recently, he was known as the host of “The Masked Singer” on Fox and featured “America’s Got Talent” on NBC from 2009-2016. It will also launch a syndicated daytime talk show in September with Debmar-Mercury.