Miley Cyrus reportedly reached out to DaBaby and offered to educate him on the LGBTQ community after the rapper went on a rant about gay people during a recent show in Miami, Florida.
“@DaBaby check your DMS,” Cyrus, who identifies as a “proud and loyal member” of the LGBTQ community, wrote in an Instagram caption Wednesday. “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!”
“The internet can fuel a lot of hate & anger and is the nucleus of cancel culture…but I believe it can also be a place filled with education, conversation, communication & connection,” she continued.
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During his set at Rolling Loud Miami, DaBaby urged concertgoers to put their phones in the air if they did not show up to the July 25 show with HIV/AIDS or other sexually transmitted diseases that will “make you die in two to three weeks,” as previously reported.
His comment prompted immediate backlash and he was dropped from festival appearances at Austin City Limits, iHeartRadio, Governors Ball, Day N Vegas and Music Midtown, according to Rolling Stone. Lollapalooza in Chicago canceled his set just hours before he was scheduled to perform.
DaBaby also faced heated criticism from fellow celebrities such as Madonna, Demi Lovato and Victoria Monét, NBC News reported. Dua Lipa, whose smash hit “Levitating” is a collaboration between the two artists, said she was “horrified” by DaBaby’s comments, according to NBC.
Music icon Elton John, who is openly gay and a longtime HIV advocate, was also “shocked” to hear about DaBaby’s remarks. “This fuels stigma and discrimination and is the opposite of what our world needs to fight the AIDS epidemic,” he wrote in a now-viral tweet, along with graphics from his foundation dedicated to HIV/AIDS education.
(1/5) We’ve been shocked to read about the HIV misinformation and homophobic statements made at a recent DaBaby show. This fuels stigma and discrimination and is the opposite of what our world needs to fight the AIDS epidemic.
The facts are: pic.twitter.com/MqCv3vWiz2
— Elton John (@eltonofficial) July 28, 2021
Cyrus took up a different approach than her peers. Instead of shaming the rapper, she extended an offer to educate him on the LGBTQ community and AIDS.
“It’s easier to cancel someone than to find forgiveness and compassion in ourselves or take the time to change hearts and minds,” Cyrus wrote. “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!”
DaBaby has issued two apologies since the incident, expressing remorse for the “hurtful and triggering comments.”
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“As a man who has had to make his own way from very difficult circumstances, having people I know publicly working against me — knowing that what I needed was education on these topics and guidance –has been challenging,” he wrote in an Instagram post Monday.
DaBaby also thanked those who have not torn him down but rather “reached out to me privately to offer wisdom, education, and resources.” (RELATED: Matthew McConaughey Rips Cancel Culture, Says ‘You Can’t Erase Someone’s Entire Existence’)
It is unclear whether DaBaby and Cyrus have communicated following her post.