Rapper DaBaby has apologised after comments he made about HIV-positive people and gay men saw him widely criticised and kicked off festival line-ups.
At the Rolling Loud Miami festival, held between 23 July and 25 July, the 29-year-old – real name Jonathan Kirk – told audience members to put their phone lights in the air – unless they were HIV-positive or were gay men who performed sex acts in car parks.
As well as seemingly singling out those living with the virus, DaBaby also incorrectly asserted that it will “make you die in two or three weeks”.
Now, in a post on his Instagram page more than a week later, the musician has apologised – and emphasised the importance of being “educated”.
He said: “Social media moves so fast that people want to demolish you before you even have the opportunity to grow, educate, and learn from your mistakes.
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“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.
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“I appreciate the many people who came to me with kindness, who reached out to me privately to offer wisdom, education, and resources.
“That’s what I needed and it was received. I want to apologize to the LGBTQ+ community for the hurtful and triggering comments I made.
“Again, I apologize for my misinformed comments about HIV/AIDS and I know education on this is important.
Among the stars to criticise DaBaby were Sir Elton John, Madonna and Dua Lipa.
Sir Elton, who founded the Elton John AIDS Foundation in 1992 said that the comments made by the rapper “fuels stigma and discrimination and is the opposite of what our world needs to fight the AIDS epidemic”.
The festival’s Twitter account posted that it was founded on “diversity, inclusivity, respect, and love”, adding: “With that in mind, DaBaby will no longer be performing at Grant Park.”
DaBaby has also been dropped from New York City’s Governors Ball and Day N Vegas in Las Vegas.
And clothing brand BooHoo dropped its line with him.
The rapper was nominated for a Grammy for record of the year last year, following the success of his song Rockstar.
The creators of Friends have revealed that parts of the script for the final episode were leaked by an insider ahead of the show airing.
Simply titled The Last One, millions tuned in as the episode brought the hit comedy to a close 20 years ago, on 6 May 2004, finally resolving the decade-long “will they, won’t they?” romance between Ross and Rachel.
Looking back at the final shows in an interview with NBC’s Today show in the US, Friends creators Marta Kauffman and David Crane revealed details of the leak.
“Oh my god, we tried so hard to keep it a secret!” Kauffman said. “We were desperate to keep it a secret and it got out. And it was an inside job.”
Scripts sent out ahead of the premiere of the final episode were numbered, Crane explained.
“We knew how many people knew what it was going to be,” he said. “So it did, through an element of… it became a behind-the-scenes detective show.
“It was frustrating, but at the end of the day, what are you gonna do?”
Part of the script that leaked included the details of Ross and Rachel finally getting back together, Kauffman said.
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But when asked if the mystery of who released the information was solved, she replied with a smile: “Ish.”
“Ish,” Crane repeated.
After 10 series and 236 episodes, as well as Ross and Rachel’s reunion, the final instalment saw Monica and Chandler leaving their famous Manhattan apartment and moving to the suburbs as new parents to adopted twins.
Perry, who died last year, aged 54, wrote about the finale in his 2022 memoir, Friends, Lovers, And The Big Terrible Thing.
“Before that final episode, I’d taken Marta Kauffman to one side,” he wrote. “‘Nobody else will care about this except me’, I said. ‘So may I please have the last line?'”
His character Chandler did indeed have the last line. As the Friends decide to go for one last coffee before the move, he simply asks, “Where?”, in a trademark sarcastic but poignant joke about the fact that so much of their time on screen has been spent in the Central Perk coffee shop.
“It’s incredibly poignant. It’s a legacy for him, one of his many legacies,” Kauffman said.
Friends has found a new generation of fans in recent years after being picked up by streaming sites.
Earlier this year, two scripts for The One With Ross’s Wedding, season four’s famous two-part finale filmed in London, sold at auction for £22,000 after being found in a bin.
The new music venue – which is set to become the largest in the UK when it does open, seating 23,500 people – has said it will now open on 14 May, when British rock band Elbow are scheduled to perform.
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Last week, the venue said it would be taking “a short pause to events… to fully ensure the safety and security of fans and artists visiting the venue”.
American rapper A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie had been cancelled at the last minute the previous day, due to a “technical issue” during a soundcheck.
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What is happening with Co-op Live Arena?
Tim Leiweke, chairman and chief executive of US-based venue operator Oak View Group, apologised for the delays and to “all those that have been affected” and said staff were working “incredibly hard” to get the building ready for 14 May.
“As many of you will know, it’s not been the smooth start we had planned for, and I know that has caused a huge amount of disruption and frustration to thousands of people,” he said.
The issues began following a test event in April which led to Co-op Live announcing it would have to reschedule Kay’s stand-up shows. These were first moved to later dates in April before a second rescheduling to 23 and 24 May.
A gig by The Black Keys has also been moved to 15 May. Rodrigo’s 3 and 4 May dates were postponed, while A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie’s 1 May performance took place three days later, having moved to the city’s AO Arena.
The Eagles, Nicki Minaj, Pet Shop Boys, Liam Gallagher, Pearl Jam, The Killers and Eric Clapton are among the big-name acts scheduled to perform at the venue in the coming months, but so far only a test event by Rick Astley has gone ahead.
The arena’s general manager Gary Roden announced his resignation last month.
A Co-op Group spokesperson previously said: “Co-op is a sponsor and does not own or run the venue, and we have made it clear to Oak View Group, who are responsible for the building, that the impact on ticketholders must be addressed as a priority.
“We are pleased that they will shortly be putting plans in place to do so.”
They added that safety checks would be independently verified so Co-op members and other ticket holders “can be reassured that the venue has the very highest levels of security and safety measures”.
The Met Gala always produces the most memorable red carpet looks of the year.
Following this year’s theme, Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion, and a Garden Of Time dress code, the stars pulled out all the botanical stops with their outfits, with floral and garden-inspired fashion unsurprisingly dominating.