Television and radio personality Charlamagne tha God said on July 15 that ViacomCBS’ decision to drop Nick Cannon shows that Jews “have the power.”
Newsweek reported that Charlamagne tha God, born Lenard Larry McKelvey, made those remarks on the nationally syndicated radio show “The Breakfast Club,” which Charlamagne co-hosts.
“Nick is my guy,” Charlamagne said. “I hate it had to be him, but that’s what you can do when you have the power. And if there’s one thing Jewish people have showed us, it’s they have the power.”
He added: “I can’t wait until the day Black people are able to fire people for saying things about us that we deem racist. We can barely get cops fired for actually killing us!”
Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt condemned Charlamagne’s reported remarks in a tweet.
“What happened with @NickCannon is a teachable moment — instead Charlamagne pushes a dangerous and age-old anti-Semitic trope by stating ‘Jews have the power,’ ” Greenblatt wrote. “Nick Cannon held himself accountable; @cthagod needs to do the same.”
What happened with @NickCannon is a teachable moment – instead Charlamagne pushes a dangerous and age-old antisemitic trope by stating “Jews have the power." Nick Cannon held himself accountable; @cthagod needs to do the same. https://t.co/DLKmoqukzd
— Jonathan Greenblatt (@JGreenblattADL) July 16, 2020
Tablet senior writer Yair Rosenberg noted on Twitter that Charlamage’s comments illustrate the “agonizing catch-22 for Jews when confronted with anti-Semitism.”
“If we say nothing, the hatred spreads unchecked,” Rosenberg wrote. “If we say something, and it results in any consequences for the anti-Semite, the bigot just uses that as proof for their anti-Semitic worldview.”
https://twitter.com/Yair_Rosenberg/status/1283592575568490498?s=20
David Renzer, co-founder of Creative Community for Peace (CCFP), said in a statement to the Journal, “The Black and Jewish communities have a long history of standing together in their struggle for civil rights. It is in this spirit that CCFP hopes to work with the Black entertainment community to amplify the voices of reason that can find commonality in our shared struggle against hate and outweigh the minority voices who express prejudice. Education, dialogue and reason are the way forward.”
Charlamagne did not respond to the Journal’s request for comment.
Viacom dropped Cannon, who hosts the improv comedy show “Wild ’N Out” on Viacom-owned VH1 and MTV, on July 14 over Cannon’s 2019 remarks saying that Zionists and the Rothschild family have “too much power” and that Blacks “are the true Hebrews.” After Cannon issued a subsequent apology, Fox announced on July 16 that Cannon will be staying on as host of the show “The Masked Singer.”
