Nick Cannon came under fire last month for anti-semitic comments he made during his “Cannon’s Class” podcast, comments that ended up going viral and led to backlash online. In addition, the frequent TV host was fired from his work with ViacomCBS, which had produced his series Wild ‘N Out. Now, a CBSViacom head honcho says the relationship between Cannon and the studio has improved in recent weeks, following a public journey the actor has undergone to learn more about the Jewish community and how his initial comments had come across.
Chris McCarthy, who happens to be the president of entertainment and youth brands at ViacomCBS, recently revealed that he has spoken with Nick Cannon in recent weeks. He mentioned during a town hall meeting (via Variety) that Cannon has said he has done work to learn from and apologize to the Jewish community following his initial podcast commentary. Per McCarthy:
I struggle with the fact that Nick, a longtime partner and friend of ours, is on this journey and we’re not part of that journey. I am hopeful we find a way to bring these two things together and hopefully we will have the opportunity to do that with Nick again.
Following his firing, Cannon said in a lengthy post that he had worked with the Jewish community to understand how his comments came across. He noted he has spoken to “rabbis,” “professors” and more and also sent his apologies to “Jewish Brothers and Sisters.” Following this period of apology, the actor said he had reached out to ViacomCBS; unfortunately, he said the studio would not take a meeting. At the time, Nick Cannon also decided to blast the outlet, noting he would “not be bullied” after having reached out. The response he says he got?
Dead Silence! So that’s when I realized they don’t want a conversation or growth, they wanted to put the young negro in his place. They wanted to show me who is boss, hang me out to dry and make an example of anyone who says something they don’t agree with.
Although ViacomCBS severed ties, Fox decided to stay in business with the former America’s Got Talent host after noting the network felt his apology was "sincere." He’s been the person keeping up the energy with Fox’s The Masked Singer since its inception on the network just a few short seasons ago and he’ll stay put heading into Season 4. The new season is expected to begin airing this fall. Cases of cancel culture and more have been a societal concern for some time now and will doubtless to continue to be a part of the conversation surrounding social media and public personas in the coming years.
Meanwhile, according to CBSViacom, for now, there are not currently plans to bring Nick Cannon back for Wild ‘N Out or any other programming. We’ll keep you updated if that changes down the line.
