Nick Cannon appeared Monday on the American Jewish Committee’s online program “Advocacy Anywhere” for a candid conversation with Rabbi Noam Marans about recent anti-Semitic comments made by the comedian, during which he attempted to better understand the impact of his “hurtful words.”
“The Masked Singer” host has continually sought to atone for his comments made during a June 30 interview with Richard “Professor Griff” Griffin, who once caused controversy of his own with anti-Semitic statements he made when he was part of Public Enemy.
“I must first say, I’m sorry,” Cannon, 39, said at the beginning of the hourlong conversation Monday, during which he compared his situation to when his children go outside and “throw rocks.”
“When a rock hits someone, the first thing you do is say ‘I apologize’ … and then we’ll deal with why you were throwing rocks,” he said. “My words hurt people.”
Cannon said his “goal” is to “break down the walls and barriers amongst [Jewish and Black] communities and bring us closer together. It truly is time to get rid of all of the things that divide us and utilize this moment.”
Cannon, who also repeatedly referred to himself as a “sacrificial lamb,” noted that the goal shouldn’t be “two oppressed” groups “going at each other.”
“A lot of people may have been upset that I apologized, but I feel like that’s what someone of true character is actually supposed to do when they hurt someone,” he said. “Now, let’s get through this process of truth and reconciliation.”