MUSIC
DaBaby Meets with HIV Advocates
Rapper has faced heat for homophobic, stigmatizing rhetoric
BY TAT BELLAMY-WALKER
The rapper DaBaby is
looking to redeem himself
after making headlines
for a homophobic
hate-fi lled rant about HIV/AIDS
earlier in the summer.
In a virtual discussion on August
25, nine HIV/AIDS organizations
provided the hip-hop artist
with education about HIV treatment
and prevention as well as
the harmful effects of HIV/AIDS
stigma. Three weeks prior to the
meeting, GLAAD and HIV/AIDS
organizations issued an open letter
to the rapper inviting him to
discuss the discriminatory statements
he made about people living
with HIV while on stage at the
Rolling Loud Festival in Miami in
July. DaBaby falsely stated at the
festival that HIV/AIDs and other
“deadly sexually transmitted diseases”
can “make you die in two
to three weeks.” He then went on
to attack gay men in particular,
saying, “Fellas, if you ain’t sucking
d*** in the parking lot, put your
cellphone lighter up.”
The meeting was led by the Black
AIDS Institute, the Southern AIDS
Coalition, the Positive Women’s
Network-USA, and other HIV/AIDS
organizations serving communities
of color. In a joint statement
on August 31, the groups said the
rapper apologized and was eager to
learn from his mistakes.
“The open letter to DaBaby was
our way to extend him the same
Nine HIV/AIDS organizations met with the rapper DaBaby to discuss the harmful remarks he made about people living with HIV.
grace each of us would hope for.
Our goal was to ‘call him in instead
of calling him out,'” the organizations
wrote in a statement.
“We believed that if he connected
with Black leaders living with HIV
that a space for community building
and healing could be created.
We are encouraged he swiftly answered
our call and joined us
in a meaningful dialogue and a
thoughtful, educational meeting.”
The group added, “During our
meeting, DaBaby was genuinely
engaged, apologized for the inaccurate
and hurtful comments he
made about people living with HIV,
and received our personal stories
and the truth about HIV and its
impact on Black and LGBTQ communities
with deep respect. We appreciate
that he openly and eagerly
participated in this forum of Black
people living with HIV, which provided
him an opportunity to learn
and to receive accurate information.”
Marnina Miller, a community
outreach coordinator with the
Southern AIDS Coalition, hopes
having these conversations can
change the public’s perceptions
about people living with HIV.
“DaBaby’s willingness to listen,
learn, and grow can open the door
to an entirely new generation of
people to do the same,” Miller said
in a written statement.
She added, “Ending HIV stigma
requires doing the hard work of
changing hearts and minds, and
often that begins with something
as simple as starting a dialogue.
We hope DaBaby will use his platform
to educate his fans and help
end the epidemic.”
Recent fi ndings from a GLAAD
study on HIV stigma revealed
that the lack of education about
HIV/AIDS fuels stigma. The report
indicated that 48 percent of
all Americans feel “knowledgeable
about HIV,” which is a decrease of
REUTERS/MARIO ANZUONI
three percentage points from last
year’s report. Experts pointed out
that low levels of HIV education coincide
with elevated rates of HIVrelated
stigma.
DaShawn Usher, the associate
director of GLAAD’s Communities
of Color program, said providing
education on HIV/AIDS can make
people more aware of the issues
facing people living with HIV. As
the HIV/AIDS crisis continues to
disproportionately hit communities
of color, Usher noted conversations
like this are an essential
tool in countering misinformation
about the virus.
“For the second year in a row,
we are fi nding that HIV stigma remains
high while HIV knowledge
remains low amongst Americans,”
Usher said in a written statement.
“We have to think critically and
intentionally about how we truly
equip and engage everyday Americans
with the facts, resources, and
scientifi c advancements about HIV
if we want to end the epidemic.”
He added, “We must hold the
media accountable to the 1.2 million
Americans living with HIV
who are not seen, represented, or
discussed. Their stories matter
and are beyond worthy of being
told.”
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