Nick Cannon, ViacomCBS may reconcile professional relationship: report
The media mogul and the network may be on the road to repairing their partnership, according to a ViacomCBS executive
After making alleged anti-Semitic remarks on his podcast Cannon’s Class, Nick Cannon was released from his contracts with ViacomCBS last month. However, there are indications that reconciliations may be on the horizon.
A new report in Variety notes that Chris McCarthy, president of entertainment and youth brands at ViacomCBS, praised the fact that Cannon has met with Jewish leaders and gained a better understanding of why his comments were offensive.
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McCarthy said at a town hall on Monday he was “hopeful” that the company and the former child star would rebuild their partnership.
“He apologized, he said it was wrong,” McCarthy explained. “He has since been on a journey of learning and understanding, and more importantly, he is using his voice to help educate other people and is becoming an advocate on this issue. This is consistent with the Nick I’ve known for ten years.”
He continued, “I struggle with the fact that Nick, a longtime partner, and friend of ours, is on this journey and we’re not part of that journey.”
Later on, when talking about the media company’s ability to connect storytelling and important social issues, McCarthy said, “I am hopeful we find a way to bring these two things together and hopefully we will have the opportunity to do that with Nick again.”
In July while speaking on his show, Cannon embraced popular Hebrew Israelite beliefs that Black people are “the true Hebrews.” He also put forth several allegedly anti-Semitic conspiracy theories.
“It’s never hate speech, you can’t be anti-Semitic when we are the Semitic people,” Cannon said. “When we are the same people who they want to be. That’s our birthright. We are the true Hebrews.”
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The comments led to Cannon’s ouster and he initially was combative about the news, reportedly planning a lawsuit for ownership of the “Wild ‘n Out” comedy brand he created.
Cannon’s comments prompted ViacomCBS to develop a “culture code,” which is a set of guidelines related to inclusion and diversity. McCarthy stated that he wished it had been created sooner and that he hopes it will prevent similar incidents in the future.
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