Viacom CBS Cuts Ties With Nick Cannon For ‘Perpetuating Anti-Semitism’

Actor Nick Cannon has been associated with ViacomCBS for over a decade now as he had starred in a variety of shows on channels owned by the company and was even named the chairman of TeenNick in 2009. But according to a recent decision by ViacomCBS, in light of the “anti-semitic” comments by the actor, Cannon will no longer be working with them.

On June 30, Cannon published a video on YouTube, wherein he featured alongside Richard “Professor Griff” Griffin and discussed anti-Semitic conspiracy theories at length.

The mentioned video attracted severe backlash, which Cannon addressed initially in a Facebook post where he defended himself as someone who has “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,” he added.

"I am an advocate for people’s voices to be heard openly, fairly, and candidly. In today’s conversation about anti-racism and social justice, I think we all - including myself - must continue educating one another and embrace uncomfortable conversations - it’s the only way we ALL get better. I encourage more healthy dialogue and welcome any experts, clergy, or spokespersons to any of my platforms to hold me accountable and correct me in any statement that I’ve made that has been projected as negative,” he added.

Cannon also addressed the controversial video in an interview with Fast Company and once again defended himself, saying that the type of conversation the video has is something very necessary in “a time like 2020”.

"And if there’s an assumption that is perceived as ignorant, let’s debunk it right away," he said. “My podcast is specifically an academic podcast to have tough and difficult conversations based off of text. And if we read something and something’s not accurate, let’s do away with it. I can’t wait to sit down with some people that can help educate me and help further this conversation. I want to be corrected.”

And as far as apologizing for his anti-Semitic comments goes, for the comedian “apologies are empty."

"Are you forcing me to say the words ‘I’m sorry’? Are you making me bow down, 'cause then again, that would be perpetuating that same rhetoric that we’re trying to get away from," he said.

"What we need is healing. What we need is discussion. Correct me. I don’t tell my children to say, ‘I’m sorry.’ I want them to understand where they need to be corrected. And then that’s how we grow.”

As Cannon continues to support his statements and refuses to apologize, ViacomCBS took the decision to terminate their contract with him

"ViacomCBS condemns bigotry of any kind and we categorically denounce all forms of anti-Semitism," reads the statement released by the company. "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."

"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."