Nick Cannon is a man of his word.
After his Cannon’s Class podcast received backlash because of anti-Semitic theories discussed with former Public Enemy rapper Richard “Professor Griff,” he tweeted an apology. But unlike the usual apology tour that most celebs embark on after a public faux pas, Cannon vowed to learn more about the Jewish community.
“I’m committed to deeper connections, more profound learning and strengthening the bond between our cultures today and every day going forward,” he said.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 21: Director Nick Cannon arrives at the 28th Annual Pan African Film Festival – “She Ball” Premiere at Cinemark Baldwin Hills on February 21, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Amanda Edwards/Getty Images)
Earlier this week the comedian and TV host proved that his Tweet was more than just lip service. Cannon visited the Simon Wiesenthal Center and Museum of Tolerance in L.A. to learn about the organization, People reports.The Simon Wiesenthal Center and Museum “challenges visitors to confront bigotry and racism and understand the Holocaust in both historic and contemporary contexts.”
Wiesenthal was a Nazi death camp survivor whose life’s work was documenting Holocaust crimes, and more than 350,00 people visit the center annually. At the center, the father of three got a history lesson, which included seeing the letter Adolf Hitler wrote about his plans to extinguish Jews from Germany. Cannon was also there to learn how to connect Black and Jewish communities.
One of the people who reached out to Cannon (at P. Diddy’s request) after the podcast conversation was talent manager Guy Oseary. After speaking with Cannon he wrote on Instagram, “Fostering a strong connection between Jewish and Black communities has always been important to me. This is an essential relationship between people who understand the pain of oppression and should work in solidarity to see justice and equality realized.”
#blacklivesmatterJustice for #georgefloyd Justice for #ahmaudarbery Justice for #ericgarner Justice for #breonnataylor Justice for #ElijahMcClainA post shared by Guy Oseary (@guyoseary) on Jul 17, 2020 at 4:50pm PDT
To illustrate his commitment to the Jewish community, Cannon plans to put his money where his mouth is by donating his first The Masked Singer paycheck to the Simon Wiesenthal Center.
After the podcast debacle, ViacomCBS parted ways with Cannon even though his long-running Wild ’N Out was renewed for three more seasons. Unlike ViacomCBS, Fox stood by The Masked Singer host saying he was “remorseful” and understood how his words “inadvertently promoted hate.”
Lionsgate and Debmar-Mercury are also in Cannon’s corner, but his Nick Cannon talk show, originally slated to air this fall, was pushed to next year, the Hollywood Reporter reports.
“We want to continue the healing process as he meets with leaders of the Jewish community and engages in a dialogue with our distribution partners to hear their views,” Lionsgate and Debmar-Mercury said in a statement. “We are standing by Nick in our hope that by fall 2021 he will be able to use his extraordinary talent and platform to entertain, enlighten and unite his audience on the Nick Cannon talk show.”
The post Nick Cannon Makes Good On Promise To Learn About The Jewish Community appeared first on Essence.
