Are Celebrities Ignorant or Antisemitic? A Deep Dive Into Nick Cannon’s Comments

When Nick Cannon took to his podcast to spout anti-Semitic conspiracy theories alongside a known anti-Semite — former Public Enemy member Richard Griffin (“Prof. Griff”)— outrage followed. ViacomCBS dropped him and his upcoming television show was shelved.

Cannon’s first reaction included a lengthy non-apology, claiming that people “misused an important moment for us to all grow closer together and learn more about one another.” Instead, he furthered, ” the moment was stolen and hijacked to make an example of an outspoken black man. [He] will not be bullied, silenced, or continuously oppressed by any organization, group, or corporation. [He is] disappointed that Viacom does not understand or respect the power of the black community.” When Cannon finally seemed to take some level of responsibility, he claimed that doing so turned his own community against him. If his community includes Richard Griffin — then I’d say he’s better off.

Unfortunately, Cannon is not the only offender. Chelsea Handler landed in hot water when she shared a video on Instagram, which quoted Louis Farrakhan, the leader of the Nation Of Islam and a widely known anti-Semite. Both the Anti-Defamation League and Southern Poverty Law Center have identified Farrakhan as anti-Semitic, and the Nation Of Islam as a hate group. Handler’s influence proved dangerous, as many celebrities with large platforms also shared the video. When confronted, Handler double down, insisting his message Farrakhan’s message was powerful and that she didn’t even consider the fact that he was anti-Semitic when she posted it — thus illustrating the recklessness of her actions. After unending uproar, she finally relented — but the damage was done.

There are many other offenders as of late, and I have held an extensive discussion on my podcast diving deeper into anti-Semitism and many of the conspiracy theories being spouted.

Listen below (the conversation begins at minute 30 if you’d like to skip the pop-culture portion of my podcast).

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