The young artist came out as gay in 2019 when his single “Old Town Road” was on its way to becoming the longest-running No. It feels intuitive that DaBaby’s comments, or at least the defenses of them, are on some level pent-up reactions to Lil Nas X’s trajectory. In a music video released on Wednesday, it’s worth noting, DaBaby looks as naked as Lil Nas X did. Of particular concern to Boosie was Nas musing that he might re-create the nude scene from a recent music video onstage at the VMAs. said in an Instagram comment, “If Lil Nas X can kick his shit in peace … so should DaBaby” and added “#equality.” Another rapper, Boosie Badazz, defended DaBaby in an openly hateful rant that directed slurs, threats, and the label “disrespectful” toward Lil Nas X. Yet tellingly, the 22-year-old hitmaker has been drawn into the ensuing storm. But the reactions he’s kicked up, and some other recent developments in hip-hop, have outed bigots and underlined the cognitive dissonance they live with.ĭaBaby’s speech did not mention Lil Nas X, hip-hop’s new, openly gay superstar. He insists, too, that he’s not homophobic. He also tweeted that he knew his comments were insensitive to people with HIV and AIDS but that he’d meant no offense. On Instagram, DaBaby then made things worse by explaining that he had been trying to show that his gay fans “got class,” unlike the “nasty … junkies on the street” who get AIDS.
The comments were nonsensical-no one dies of any STD in three weeks-and brought backlash from listeners, celebrities, and businesses. Performing in Miami this past weekend, the rapper asked fans to raise their phones if they didn’t have AIDS or “any of them deadly sexually transmitted diseases that’ll make you die in two to three weeks” and also weren’t “fellas … sucking dick in the parking lot.” In other words, a factor causing needless suffering is people like DaBaby, one of the hottest names in hip-hop. “It was a good way to research,” he says, “to kind of build the character with some elements of real life.One big reason HIV/AIDS remains a deadly crisis despite the existence of lifesaving drugs is stigma: Fear of shame and ostracization discourages people from accessing testing, preventive measures, and treatment. Jonas spoke to some of his closest gay friends who were raised in conservative families as he prepared to play Nate. Of his character of Nate on Kingdom, Jonas says: “It’s been a great character to play, one that I try to be respectful of and take myself out of. He also continues to enjoy playing a gay role on the gritty fight drama Kingdom and played a gay frat boy during the first season on the horror comedy Scream Queens.
Last month, he and Demi Lovato canceled their concerts in North Carolina because of the state’s controversial HB2 law. “We need more people like him in the music industry-someone who’s willing to come out and say that he supports the entire LGBT community and embraces fans from all walks of life.”īut the gay baiting charge has not resulted in Jonas backing away from being an outspoken supporter of LGBTI equality. “I think he’s very humble and an amazing ally,” she says. Transgender model Carmen Carrera is a new friend of Jonas’ and defended him at a listening party. He has not ruled out doing the same for his upcoming second album, Last Year Was Complicated. At a club in New York City, he even engaged in a partial striptease. The gay baiting buzz began in earnest when Jonas began making appearances in gay clubs to promote his first solo album. “It’s not the majority, but a large handful have a negative opinion for whatever reason,” he tells Out. Jonas, who identifies as heterosexual, is well-aware of the gay baiting accusations. Nick Jonas welcomes attention from gay fans but he’s not so crazy about accusations that he is using them to gain even more fame. Nick Jonas calls accusations of gay baiting ‘really quite sad’