Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Fast Forward

‘I feel ashamed and uninformed:’ Nick Cannon apologizes for anti-Semitic comments

Just a day after demanding an apology from the network that fired him, actor and TV host Nick Cannon made his own apology for anti-Semitic remarks on his podcast.

“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,” Cannon tweeted late Wednesday night.

ViacomCBS ended its decades-long relationship with Cannon on Tuesday over anti-Semitic comments he made during a June 30 episode of his podcast “Cannon’s Class.” During the podcast, Cannon praised anti-Semitic Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, promoted conspiracy theories about the Rothschild family and argued that people of African descent are the “true Jews.”

Related story: Nick Cannon demands apology, declares network “on wrong side of history”

On Wednesday morning, Cannon posted a statement to Facebook saying that the media giant was “on the wrong side of history,” while also expressing gratitude for the “outpouring of love and support from the Jewish community” he’d received in the wake of his firing.

Later on Wednesday, Cannon spoke with Rabbi Abraham Cooper of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, an organization that fights anti-Semitism, and said he’d gained a new understanding of his comments. “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,” he tweeted.

Cannon continued that he’d received an “eye-opening” history lesson from the “rabbis, community leaders and institutions who reached out to me to help enlighten me” and assured Jewish fans that he is “committed to deeper connections, more profound learning and strengthening the bond between our two cultures today and every day going forward.”

The “Cannon’s Class” episode in question has been removed, Cannon said.

Cooper told Jewish Insider that he spoke with Cannon after the actor reached out to the Simon Wiesenthal Center. The two spoke over the phone and plan to meet in person in the future. Their preliminary conversation, Cooper said, was “a little lesson in Judaism 101.” Cooper also asked Cannon to read a list of anti-Semitic remarks made by Farrakhan.

Related story: Nick Cannon and several other Black celebrities attended Farrakhan’s July 4 speech

Cannon will continue to host Fox reality show “The Masked Singer,” the network announced in a statement on Wednesday.

“Nick has sincerely apologized, and quickly taken steps to educate himself and make amends,” the statement said. “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.”

Irene Katz Connelly is an editorial fellow at the Forward. You can contact her at [email protected].

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.