ViacomCBS fired actor, comedian, and rapper Nick Cannon Tuesday night, after he refused to apologize for anti-Semitic comments he made during a recently aired podcast interview.
Cannon, 39, the former husband of singer Mariah Carey, recorded a segment last year with Richard Griffin, also known as “Professor Griff”, a former Nation of Islam member and rapper who was once a member of the Public Enemy rap group.
Griffin, who left the group after a string of interviews in 1988 and 1989, has in the past denounced homosexuals and Jews, saying in 1988 “if the Palestinians took up arms, went into Israel, and killed all the Jews, it’d be alright.”
A year later he said “Jews are responsible for the majority of wickedness in the world.”
Last year, Cannon invited Griffin to his podcast for an interview.
During the podcast, the two discussed a number of anti-Semitic conspiracy theories, with Cannon endorsing the claim that “the Rothschilds … control everything outside of America”.
Cannon and Griffin went on to defend Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan from allegations of anti-Semitism, denying that anti-Jewish bigotry constitutes anti-Semitism, claiming that “Semitic people are black people.”
“You can’t be anti-Semitic when we are the Semitic people,” Cannon said.
Cannon posted a clarification on his Facebook account Monday night, but declined to apologize for his comments.
“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.”
Following Cannon’s refusal to apologize for his comments, ViacomCBS announced that it has terminated its relationship with the actor.