Elton John slams DaBaby for ‘HIV misinformation and homophobic statements’
"We need to break down the myths and judgments".
Words: Jamie Tabberer; pictures: Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour/Interscope
Elton John has slammed DaBaby for his recent comments about gay men and HIV/Aids.
Speaking on stage at Miami’s Rolling Loud festival on Sunday (25 July 2021), rapper DaBaby told fans: “If you didn’t show up today with HIV, AIDS, any of them deadly sexually transmitted diseases that’ll make you die in two, three weeks, then put your cellphone light up.”
He also said: “Fellas, if you ain’t sucking d*** in the parking lot, put your cellphone lighter up.”
“We need to break down the myths and judgments”
Responding to the ‘Rockstar’ hitmaker’s comments, pop icon Elton John said on Twitter: “We’ve been shocked to read about the HIV misinformation and homophobic statements made at a recent DaBaby show. This fuels stigma and discrimination and is the opposite of what our world needs to fight the AIDS epidemic.”
The Elton John AIDS Foundation founder continued: “HIV has affected over 70 million people globally: men, women, children and the most vulnerable people in our communities.
“In America, a gay black man has a 50% lifetime chance of contracting HIV. Stigma and shame around HIV and homosexuality is a huge driver of this vulnerability. We need to break down the myths and judgments and not fuel these.
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👉 HIV has affected over 70 million people globally: men, women, children and the most vulnerable people in our communities.
— Elton John (@eltonofficial) July 28, 2021
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👉 You can live a long and healthy life with HIV. Treatment is so advanced that with one pill a day, HIV can become undetectable in your body so you can’t pass it onto other people.
— Elton John (@eltonofficial) July 28, 2021
“You can live a long and healthy life with HIV. Treatment is so advanced that with one pill a day, HIV can become undetectable in your body so you can’t pass it onto other people.
“Homophobic and HIV mistruths have no place in our society and industry and as musicians, we must spread compassion and love for the most marginalised people in our communities. A musician’s job is to bring people together.”
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👉 Homophobic and HIV mistruths have no place in our society and industry and as musicians, we must spread compassion and love for the most marginalised people in our communities.
A musician’s job is to bring people together.
— Elton John (@eltonofficial) July 28, 2021
Dua Lipa – who DaBaby collaborated with on the current global hit single ‘Levitating’ – also criticised the star’s comments this week, writing on Instagram: “I’m surprised and horrified at DaBaby’s comments. I really don’t recognize this as the person I worked with.
“I know my fans know where my heart lies and that I stand 100% with the LGBTQ community. We need to come together to fight the stigma and ignorance around HIV/AIDS.”
Since being dropped as the face of BoohooMAN, DaBaby has addressed the backlash to his comments, saying on Twitter: “Anybody who done ever been effected by AIDS/HIV y’all got the right to be upset, what I said was insensitive even though I have no intentions on offending anybody. So my apologies. But the LGBT community… I ain’t trippin on y’all, do you. y’all business is y’all business.”
In an Instagram video, he added: “Me and all my fans at the show, the gay ones and the straight ones, we turnt the fuck up.
“I said: ‘If you don’t got AIDS, put a cellphone light up.’ I said: ‘If you ain’t suck a n**** dick in the parking lot, put your cellphones light up.’ So I could drop my next song. I wasn’t going on no rant.”
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