Nick Cannon’s comments: What did he say that was anti-semitic?

Nick Cannon has been fired by Viacom CBS, the parent company of MTV, for making anti-semitic comments on his YouTube podcast Cannon’s Class.

In the offending episode of Cannon’s Class, the media megastar sat down with rapper Richard Griffin, whose stage name is Professor Griff. The episode was recorded last year, but it was released within the last couple of weeks, which has led to the controversy.

Griffin has been a controversial figure for a number of years; he was kicked out of Public Enemy in 1989 after he made anti-semitic comments in an interview with the Washington Times.

He told the paper that “the Jews are wicked. And we can prove this.”

In the podcast, he appeared to stand by his original comments when he said, “I’m hated now because I told the truth.”

Cannon responded by calling his guest a “legend” and said, “you’re speaking facts. There’s no reason to be scared of anything when you’re speaking the truth.”

Cannon then claimed that Black people are the true Hebrews and that the Jews had usurped their identity.

“It’s never hate speech; 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. We are the true Hebrews.”

Nick Cannon discussed anti-semitic conspiracy theories

The pair then delved into traditional anti-Semitic conspiracy theories, that speak of a shadowy Jewish power that supposedly holds control over society.

Cannon spoke of Jewish power as “going as deep as the Rothschilds, centralized banking, the 13 families, the bloodlines that control everything even outside of America.”

He also made a reference suggesting that there was too much power being wielded by “Illuminati, the Zionists, the Rothschilds.”

Cannon has also been criticized for describing white people as a “little less” than Black people because they lack sufficient melanin.

His employers Viacom CBS terminated Cannon’s employment yesterday and issued a statement stating: “ViacomCBS condemns bigotry of any kind and we categorically denounce all forms of anti-Semitism.”

“We have spoken with Nick Cannon about an episode of his podcast ‘Cannon’s Class’ on YouTube, which promoted hateful speech and spread anti-Semitic conspiracy theories,” Viacom CBS added.

The company also said: “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.”

Nick Cannon condemned Viacom CBS’s decision

The former judge of America’s Got Talent took to Facebook earlier today to say he was “deeply saddened” by Viacom CBS’s decision. He also accused them of making “an example of an outspoken black man.”

In a lengthy statement, he also added, “I must apologize to my Jewish Brothers and Sisters for putting them in such a painful position.”

He also said he would take part in “conversations to bring the Jewish Community and the African American community closer together, embracing our differences and sharing our commonalities.”

Nick Cannon was in the news early last month for more positive reasons when he wrote an essay demanding an end to police brutality and a more racially equal society.

He also called for police officers to be renamed “peace officers.”

In May, Cannon also spoke about how he was dealing with the novel coronavirus pandemic. Having suffered from various health conditions in the past, he has been taking extra care during the pandemic.