Radio host Charlamagne tha God implied that ViacomCBS’s decision to fire Nick Cannon proves that Jewish people “have the power.”
The radio show of The Breakfast Club discussed Cannon’s firing on the show Wednesday. ViacomCBS decided to terminate Cannon’s contract after he “failed to acknowledge or apologize for perpetuating anti-Semitism” in an episode of his YouTube talk show Cannon’s Class, which he posted days ago.
“Listen, Nick is my guy. I hate it had to be him, but that’s what you can do when you have the power. And if there’s one thing Jewish people have showed us, it’s they have the power,” Charlamagne tha God said. “I can’t wait until the day black people are able to fire people for saying things about us that we deem racist. We can barely get cops fired for actually killing us!”
Claims that Jewish people control the media have been pushed for decades, according to the Anti-Defamation League. A spokesperson for Charlamagne tha God, however, noted in a statement to the Washington Examiner that the radio host “never referenced the word media.”
“Charlamagne’s statement speaks to power and their ability to terminate him based on that power and influence,” the representative said.
Charlamagne tha God also noted, “We all have freedom of speech, but we’re not free of the consequences of that speech.” He added that a leader of the faith one discusses should be present for such a discussion.
Cannon, 39, received the backlash for an episode of his show that featured Richard Griffin, also known as Professor Griff from the Public Enemy rap group. The conversation, which initially focused on how they cannot be anti-Semitic because black people are the real Semites, turned to conspiracy theories about Jewish people controlling money and the banking system globally, a theory that the Anti-Defamation League says “has surfaced across the extremist spectrum.”
Cannon referenced going “as deep as the Rothschilds, centralized banking, the bloodlines that control everything — even outside of America.” He also argued that once people understand who the real Jewish people are, “it’s never hate speech. … You can’t be anti-Semitic when we are the Semitic people, when we are the same people that they want to be. That’s our birthright.”
After the firing, Cannon posted a lengthy thread on social media bashing the network.
“I am deeply saddened in a moment so close to reconciliation that the powers that be, misused an important moment for us to all grow closer together and learn more about one another,” he wrote. “Instead the moment was stolen and highjacked to make an example of an outspoken black man. I will not be bullied, silenced, or continuously oppressed by any organization, group, or corporation. I am disappointed that Viacom does not understand or respect the power of the black community.”
Fox, the network that produces Cannon’s show, The Masked Singer, declined to comment to the Washington Examiner on whether Cannon will continue to host the show moving forward.
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to reflect feedback from Charlamagne tha God’s team.
