Nick Cannon is apologizing to his “Jewish sisters and brothers” for his controversial comments made on his podcast, Cannon’s Class. The episode, which featured former Public Enemy member Richard “Professor Griff” Griffin, found Cannon discussing anti-Semitic conspiracy theories. Griffin was removed from Public Enemy in 1989 for derogatory comments geared towards the Jewish community.
“First and foremost I extend my deepest and most sincere apologies to my Jewish sisters and brothers for the hurtful and divisive words that came out of my mouth during my interview with Richard Griffin,” he wrote. “They reinforced the worst stereotypes of a proud and magnificent people and I feel ashamed of the uninformed and naïve place that these words came from. The video of this interview has since been removed.”
Cannon issued two statements before his definitive statements on the matter via Twitter Wednesday night. In his initial remarks, he said he does not condone hate speech and also wants full ownership of his hit show, Wild ‘N Out, which airs on ViacomCBS’ owned network, MTV.
“I want to assure my Jewish friends, new and old, that this is only the beginning of my education—I am committed to deeper connections, more profound learning and strengthening the bond between our two cultures today and every day going forward,” he continued on Twitter. He also thanked “Rabbis, community leaders and institutions who reached out to me to help enlighten me, instead of chastising.”
Per Rolling Stone, Fox—the network for Cannon’s most prominent hosting gig The Masked Singer—issued a statement of its own. They note that while Cannon’s comments and rhetoric were harmful, he will keep his hosting duties on the popular competition show.
“Nick has sincerely apologized and quickly taken steps to educate himself and make amends,” the statement read. “On that basis and given a belief that this moment calls for dialogue, we will move forward with Nick and help him advance this important conversation, broadly. Fox condemns all forms of hate directed toward any community and we will combat bigotry of any kind.”