Dave Chappelle has addressed DaBaby’s homophobic comments at Rolling Loud Festival in his new Netflix special.
As reported by Complex (yes spoilers below), Chapelle acknowledges that DaBaby “pushed the button” with his comments and that he “can’t do that”.
But also he prefaced all of this by saying that he hopes “to negotiate the release of DaBaby”.
He began, “I came here tonight because this body of work that I’ve done on Netflix, I’m going to complete.”
“All the questions you might have had about all these jokes I’ve said in the last few years, I hope to answer tonight,” he continued.
“And I’d like to start by addressing the [LGBTQ] community directly. I want every member of that community to know that I come here tonight in peace and I hope to negotiate the release of DaBaby.”
Earlier this year the DaBaby came under intense scrutiny for what many perceived as a mass spread of information in relation to HIV/AIDS.
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Chappelle goes on to agree that the rapper made a very “egregious mistake” but also that “a lot of the [LGBTQ] community doesn’t know DaBaby’s history.”
“Now, you know I go hard in the paint, but even I saw that shit and was like, ‘Goddamn, DaBaby. He pushed the button, didn’t he? He pushed the button, punched the [LGBTQ] community right in the AIDS.”
“Can’t do that, can’t do that. But I do believe, and I’ll make this point later, that the kid made a very egregious mistake. I will acknowledge that. But, you know, a lot of the [LGBTQ] community doesn’t know DaBaby’s history. He’s a wild guy.”
“In our country, you can shoot and kill a n***a but you better not hurt a gay person’s feelings.”
Since the backlash DaBaby received, he’s been protected by many fellow artists, including Kanye West and has also apologised to HIV organisations.
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