DaBaby returned to the stage on August 22, at Hot 97 Summer Jam, the only major event not to cancel his appearance following anti-AIDS and -LGBTQ comments at Rolling Loud Miami in July. And to begin his performance, the rapper made yet another apology, in the form of a video message from the stage. DaBaby said the New York radio station, which puts on the annual hip-hop festival, “accepted my sincerity and all my apologies when I said I never, ever meant to offend anybody or say anything to make anybody feel any type of way live on that stage a few weeks ago,†per reports from Complex and The Hollywood Reporter.
At Rolling Loud, DaBaby went on a mid-performance rant targeting people with HIV and AIDS, along with gay people. He first attempted to apologize by saying on Instagram Live that the comments were a “call to action†and that “even my gay fans don’t have fuckin’ AIDSâ€; after being dropped by music festivals and criticized by collaborators (amid rolling out a whole new single off the comments), DaBaby posted a social-media statement apologizing for his “hurtful and triggering†and “misinformed†comments. (He later deleted that apology.)
Billboard previously reported that DaBaby promised, but never delivered, a video apology to Lollapalooza, leading his August 1 headlining set to be pulled and opening the gates for the wave of festival cancellations that followed. In his Summer Jam video, DaBaby continued heaping praise on Hot 97 for being “willing to stick they neck out on the line†by allowing him to perform. That move, he said, will “help the world move forward and become a better place, and not dismiss people based off mistakes made, like we ain’t human.†But once onstage, DaBaby didn’t seem to be in as remorseful of a mood. Before performing his Megan Thee Stallion collaboration “Cry Baby†early in his set, the rapper said, “Other than the people that, you know, was truly offended, I feel like the rest of y’all motherfuckers being crybabies.â€