Azealia Banks unimpressed by ‘performative cancelling’ of DaBaby
Azealia Banks has criticised DaBaby’s “performative cancelling”. (Getty)
Azealia Banks thinks “cancelling” DaBaby over his homophobic comments is “performative”, and that he should have been binned a long time ago for a different reason.
DaBaby has faced blistering backlash for delivering a homophobic rant at a gig last month. The rapper has lost sponsorships, been cut from festivals and has been publicly called out by celebrities including Elton John, Madonna, Dua Lipa, Demi Lovato, Miley Cyrus and Laverne Cox.
But Azealia Banks, who is notorious for her own anti-LGBT+ tirades, thinks the rapper should have been cancelled a long time ago, for a horrific incident in March 2020.
The musician, who was once suspended from Twitter for a graphic rant against gender affirmation surgery, wrote on her Instagram story: “Y’all should have BEEN canceled DaBaby when he was caught on camera punching a female fan in the face.
“I’m not believing any of this performative canceling people are doing now when everyone so quick to forget that happened. Apology or not, keep him canceled.”
DaBaby punched a woman in the face for having her phone torch on
Last year, DaBaby arrived at a gig in Florida and walked through a crowd of fans who were all taking photos and turning on their phone torches to see him in the murky club.
But when one fan got a little too close, the rapper lashed out and punched her in the face.
After the woman was reported to be hiring lawyers, DaBaby posted an “apology” video to social media.
“Out of all those fans – how many people know how to zoom in? Just zoom in instead of popping me in the eye with the phone,” he said.
He added that he was “very sorry that there was a female on the other end”, but added: “It’s a well known fact that male or female, I would’ve responded the same exact way.”
DaBaby’s career continued on unscathed after the incident, but in the wake of his homophobic rant at the Rolling Loud festival he has faced heavy consequences.
At the event, the rapper asked fans to light up their phones if they “didn’t show up today with HIV, AIDS, any of them deadly sexually transmitted diseases that’ll make you die in two, three weeks”.
He also hit out at men “sucking d**k in the parking lot” and asked women if their “p***y smell like water”.
Lollapalooza was one of a number of festivals to drop DaBaby, reportedly after a promised “heartfelt” apology video failed to materialise.
Eventually he said sorry to the LGBT+ community and to those living with HIV/AIDS, saying: “As a man who has had to make his own way from very difficult circumstances, having people I know publicly working against me – knowing that what I needed was education on these topics and guidance – has been challenging.”
