Nick Cannon, 39, has been fired by ViacomCBS, the conglomerate confirmed in a statement to HollywoodLife on July 14. The news came as Nick faces major backlash on social media over “anti-Semitic” comments he made in a recent episode of his podcast/YouTube series, titled Cannon’s Class.
“ViacomCBS condemns bigotry of any kind and we categorically denounce all forms of anti-Semitism,” the statement reads. “We have spoken to Nick Cannon about an episode of his podcast Cannon’s Class on YouTube, which promoted hateful speech and spread anti-Semitic conspiracy theories. 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. ViacomCBS will have further announcements on our efforts to combat hate of all kinds.”
Nick has not yet publicly responded to his firing, but HollywoodLife reached out to his rep for a comment, and we did not receive an immediate response. However, Mariah Carey‘s ex-husband, who also currently hosts Fox’s The Masked Singer, took to Twitter on Monday, July 13 (after the podcast was released on June 30), and said he had “no hate in my heart nor malice intentions”. He also said he didn’t condone hate speech. He went on to say that he holds himself “accountable for this moment” and takes full responsibility for his actions.
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.
— Nick Cannon (@NickCannon) July 13, 2020
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!🙏🏾
— Nick Cannon (@NickCannon) July 13, 2020
Nick has hosted Wild ‘N Out, an improv comedy show, since it premiered in June 2005. The show, which launched on MTV before moving to its sister network VH1, was recently renewed for three more seasons. Nick has also hosted several other programs on the company’s cable networks MTV and Nickelodeon.
