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DaBaby thankful for 'education' as more festivals drop him

Getty Images US rapper DaBabyGetty Images

DaBaby has posted another apology for his comments about the LGBT community, saying he appreciates the "education" he has received since.

The US rapper also acknowledged that what he'd said on stage at Rolling Loud in Miami was "hurtful and triggering".

It comes as two more US music festivals have taken him off their line-ups.

In the latest post on Instagram, he said: "What I needed on these topics was education and guidance."

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At the rapper's recent performance at Rolling Loud he made a number of negative and false comments regarding LGBT people and those who have HIV and AIDS.

He asked audience members to flash the lights on their phones, apart from those who were HIV-positive or gay men who "had sex in car parks".

He also claimed, falsely, that HIV will make you die in "two or three weeks".

Those with HIV can access medication to live long and healthy lives.

As a result, the rapper was dropped from Lollapalooza's line-up over the weekend, with organisers saying the festival "was founded on diversity, inclusivity, respect, and love".

Since then it has been announced that he will no longer appear at Governors Ball or Day N Vegas festival.

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What is HIV?

  • HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus - the immunodeficiency is the weakening of the immune system by the virus
  • If untreated it can lead to late-stage HIV or Aids, the name for a collection of illnesses caused by the virus
  • But there are very effective drug treatments that enable most people with the virus to live long and healthy lives
  • Modern medication reduces the viral load to undetectable levels, meaning someone can't pass on HIV and their health is protected
  • There were more than 105,000 people living with HIV in the UK in 2019
  • Sources: Terrence Higgins Trust and NHS
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A number of high-profile celebrities have criticised DaBaby for what he said.

Dua Lipa, who worked with him on her remixed version of Levitating has said on Instagram: "I'm surprised and horrified at DaBaby's comments."

Getty Images Dua LipaGetty Images
Dua Lipa has previously spoken out in support of the LGBT community

Elton John called DaBaby's comments "HIV mistruths".

DaBaby's apology

The rapper's most recent apology comes after even more brands have cut ties with him.

On Instagram, he thanked people who "came to [him] with kindness".

"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," he added.

He went on to apologise to the LGBT community for the "hurtful and triggering" comments, saying he was "misinformed".

DaBaby's previous attempts at addressing his critics on this have not been well received by everyone.

His immediate response was a statement on Instagram, saying: "What I do at the live show is for the audience at the live show. It would never translate correctly to someone looking at a little five/six second clip."

His second attempt was an apology with a post saying anyone affected by HIV/Aids had the "right to be upset".

But that provoked further criticism for not going far enough.

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