Nick Cannon Addressed the Anti-Semitic Comments He Made, Says 2020 Was a “Growth Moment” for Him “as a Man”

Nick Cannon recently addressed the anti-Semitic comments he made a few years ago on his podcast, reflecting on the words that got him temporarily dropped by ViacomCBS in 2020.

The actor and entrepreneur opened up in an interview with AllHipHop about what he learned in the aftermath of the controversy.

“That process was a growth moment for me, on so many levels as a man,” he said.

Cannon went on to describe his latest podcast 2 Hate Or Not 2 Hate, which he co-hosts with Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt. He said, “It’s really talking about the equation of our two communities from two different perspectives. We voice our side, or the perspective as a Black man, and then he voices his side from a Jewish man.”

Cannon added,”Just even that alone is helpful and educational for both communities.”

Cannon was dropped by ViacomCBS in July 2020 after making anti-Semitic comments on his podcast, Cannon’s Class. After insisting that Black people were the “true Hebrews,” he said, “You can’t be anti-Semitic when we are the Semitic people.” Cannon went on to reference various anti-Semitic conspiracies, saying, “the Rothschilds, centralized banking, the 13 families, the bloodlines that control everything even outside of America.”

ViacomCBS terminated its business relationship with Cannon over two weeks later, but Cannon later returned to his longtime comedy show Wild ‘N Out in 2021 after taking multiple steps to engage with the Jewish community.

After the news broke, Cannon and Greenblatt wrote an op-ed together for the Jewish newspaper The Forward in August 2020, calling for unity between the Jewish and Black communities. He also issued a public apology to the Jewish community, appeared on a panel with the American Jewish Community and made a donation to the Simon Wiesenthal Center.

A spokesperson from the MTV Entertainment Group told Variety upon his return to the network, “Nick has not only apologized and taken responsibility for his comments, but he has also worked to educate himself and others through engagement with Jewish leaders and on his platform. Those efforts are of the utmost importance and that’s why we have invited him to rejoin our team.”

Cannon and Greenblatt’s podcast 2 Hate Or Not 2 Hate premiered in January, with a lineup of guest appearances from personalities like Angela Yee, Stephen A. Smith and Michael Eric Dyson.

“I’m really about connecting with a community and finding solutions, that’s why we created that podcast. I’m really putting my money where my mouth is and my energy to where my heart is,” Cannon told AllHipHop.

“To me, that situation says, ‘All right, I’m done talking. Everybody talk. Let’s figure it out, let’s solve it. What’s the problem?'”