Fox stands by Nick Cannon

US broadcast network Fox has decided to retain Nick Cannon as host of talent show The Masked Singer, after he was dropped by ViacomCBS for spreading anti-Semitic conspiracy theories.

Nick Cannon

Cannon was fired from his MTV show Wild ‘N Out and other work for channel owner ViacomCBS which said he had promoted anti-Semitic comments in a recent episode of his podcast.

Last month the presenter interviewed former Public Enemy rapper Professor Griff (aka Richard Griffin), who left the group in 1989 after saying Jews were “wicked.”

Griffin claimed to Cannon he was talking about Jews controlling the media and said: “I’m hated now because I told the truth.” Cannon added: “You’re speaking facts.”

Fox said in a statement yesterday: “When we were made aware of Nick Cannon’s interview with Richard Griffin on YouTube, we immediately began a dialogue with Nick. He is clear and remorseful that his words were wrong and lacked both understanding and context, and inadvertently promoted hate.

“This was important for us to observe. Nick has sincerely apologised and quickly taken steps to educate himself and make amends. 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.”

Cannon added: “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. 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.

“While the Jewish experience encompasses more than 5,000 years and there is so much I have yet to learn, I have had at least a minor history lesson over the past few days and to say that it is eye-opening would be a vast understatement.

“I want to express my gratitude to the Rabbis, community leaders and institutions who reached out to me to help enlighten me, instead of chastising me. 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.”