ViacomCBS has severed its business ties with television host Nick Cannon, citing "hateful speech" made by the entertainer during a podcast.
“ViacomCBS condemns bigotry of any kind and we categorically denounce all forms of anti-Semitism,” the media giant said in a statement Tuesday.
The termination followed remarks made by Cannon in a podcast discussion with Richard “Professor Griff” Griffith, a former member of Public Enemy. The podcast was released on June 30.
“We have spoken with Nick Cannon about an episode of his podcast ‘Cannon’s Class’ on YouTube, which promoted hateful speech and spread anti-Semitic conspiracy theories,” ViacomCBS said.
The star took to social media Wednesday to apologize, and to criticize his firing.
On Wednesday, Cannon took to social media to issue an apology.
"Systemic racism is what this world was built on and was the subject in which I was attempting to highlight in the recent clips that have been circulating from my podcast. If I have furthered the hate speech, I wholeheartedly apologize," he wrote in a lengthy post.
He has hosted the sketch comedy and improvisation game show "Wild ‘n Out" on MTV and VH1 since 2005. The music networks are owned by ViacomCBS, as is Inside Edition.
Cannon also appears in the Fox program "The Masked Singer."
Cannon hosted "America's Got Talent" on NBC from 2009 to 2016, and hosts a morning radio show for KPWR in Los Angeles. He is scheduled to launch a daytime talk show in September. He also is the former husband of singer Mariah Carey.
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