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Miley Cyrus reaches out to DaBaby, says it’s better to talk than cancel straight away

Miley Cyrus and (inset) DaBaby
Miley Cyrus and (inset) DaBaby (Photos; YouTube)

Miley Cyrus has said she’d like to talk with DaBaby and see what she and he can learn from each other. In an Instagram posting yesterday evening, the ‘Wrecking Ball’ singer suggested it can be easy and tempting to “cancel” someone without trying to educate or change hearts and minds first.

“As a proud and loyal member of the LGBTQIA+ community, much of my life has been dedicated to encouraging love, acceptance, and open mindedness,” she stated in a posting.

“The internet can fuel a lot of hate & anger and is the nucleus of cancel culture,” Cyrus wrote, “but I believe it can also be a place filled with education, conversation, communication & connection.

“It’s easier to cancel someone than to find forgiveness and compassion in ourselves or take the time to change hearts and minds. There’s no more room for division if we want to keep seeing progress! Knowledge is power! I know I still have so much to learn!”

 

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A post shared by Miley Cyrus (@mileycyrus)

In a caption accompanying her post, Cyrus made it clear she was aiming this at DaBaby.

“@DaBaby check your DMS – would love to talk and see how we can learn from each other and help be part of making a more just and understanding future! For more info @greaterthanaids is a great resource! 🌈💕 @happyhippiefdn

DaBaby has had a huge backlash since his appearance at the Miami Rolling Loud festival on Sunday, July 25. During his performance, the rapper invited some of the audience to hold their cellphone lights aloft: ​​”If you didn’t show up today with HIV, AIDS, or any of them deadly sexually transmitted diseases, that’ll make you die in two to three weeks, then put your cellphone lighter up! Ladies, if your p***y smell like water, put your cellphone lighter up! Fellas, if you ain’t sucking di** in the parking lot, put your cellphone lighter up!”

His words have been condemned by Dua Lipa (with whom he’d recently collaborated), Madonna and Elton John, and advocacy groups like GLAAD, among many others. He also lost a commercial deal with the online clothing company BoohooMan.

He issued a half-assed attempt at an apology a couple of days later, saying he meant no harm to LGBTQ people. He also said he had gay fans, but they weren’t the type to have AIDS. Unsurprisingly, this only made things worse, as did dropping a video for a new track a couple of days later which again made references to AIDS.

Related: DaBaby release new music video with further references to AIDS

Last weekend, he was dropped from several major music festivals, including Lollapalooza, the Governors Ball and Austin City Limits. More festival cancellations are likely. Two days ago, DaBaby finally issued a more fulsome apology, saying he wanted to grow, educate himself and learn from his mistakes.

“I want to apologize to the LGBTQ community for the hurtful and triggering comments I made. Again, I apologize for the misinformed comments I made about HIV/AIDS and I know education on this is important.”

 

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A post shared by LONG LIVE G (@dababy)

The response to Cyrus’s invitation to talk has been mixed. On the positive side, Drag Race alum Gia Gunn commented, “I see you Miley…love conquers all🤍”, while Bianca Del Rio posted a string of love hearts.

Trinity K Bonet replied, “I probably should be at that table talk wit y’all…you know to lay down the day to day facts…. but following your lead miss Miley.. all help is needed on this topic.. love you much❤️”

However, others strongly disagreed.

“He is a millionaire who can obviously afford education if he truly wanted to.. his hate and lack of knowledge kills lgbtq+ members everyday. That’s the image he portrays and the image kids are going to follow. It is not your of any lgbtq+ member job to educate him anymore,” was one well-liked comment from @juhaynadjebara.

In a similar vein, and also prompting thousands of likes, @alexpc_1 said, “The gag is Miley….he doesn’t care lol he doesn’t WANT to learn. He keeps posting about how unbothered he is. The man is not humble and don’t give a shit.”

Related: Boosie Badazz defends DaBaby: “in 10 years it ain’t gonna be normal for a kid to be straight.”

Cyrus has been a vocal advocate for LGBTQ rights, and in 2015 launched her own Happy Hippie Foundation. The foundation focuses on youth homelessness (particularly among LGBTQ youth), the LGBTQ community, and other vulnerable populations.

In a further demonstration of sitting down to talk with figures that have faced similar backlash over homophobia, Cyrus was also among the first guests this week to take part in Kevin Hart’s new talk show (Heart to Hart). The first three episodes premiered on Peacock yesterday, with new episodes appearing each Thursday. Cyrus shared a teaser video to her Instagram stories.

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