Nick Cannon Opens Up in ABC Special, Says He’s ‘Seeking Growth’ After Anti-Semitic Comments: ‘It’s About Counsel Culture’

ABC

Nick Cannon sat down for his first TV interview since making anti-Semitic comments last summer, opening up about his “journey of atonement.”

In an interview Tuesday night on ABC’s Soul of a Nation, Cannon told anchor Linsey Davis that he’s spent the last nine months meeting with Jewish leaders and educating himself in an effort to understand why his words were hurtful to the Jewish community.

ViacomCBS cut ties with Cannon last July and canceled his hit variety show Wild ‘n Out after the TV personality peddled anti-Semitic conspiracy theories on an episode of his podcast Cannon’s Class.

During the episode, Cannon and former Public Enemy member Richard “Professor Griff” Griffin, pushed several conspiracy theories, including that Jewish people control centralized banking.

Cannon also suggested that Black people are “the true Hebrews” and further claimed that as a Black man, he cannot be anti-Semitic.

After his termination from ViacomCBS, Cannon apologized for his remarks. Cannon’s contract with the media company was restored last month, and it was announced that he’ll resume hosting duties on Wild ‘N Out.

“I’ve always said that apologies are empty. Apologies are weightless,” Cannon told Davis. “In Hebrew they call it, you know, ‘Teshuva,’ the process of not only you know, repenting, but through that, if you’re ever met with a similar situation that you make a different decision. That goes beyond apologizing.”

He added, “And I’m on this journey of atonement, not to get a job, not to gain any more money because that’s not what’s needed here. I’m doing this because it’s the right thing to do.”

TONIGHT: “I’m not seeking forgiveness. I’m seeking for growth.” Tonight @LinseyDavis speaks with @NickCannon.

Watch the full interview on @SoulOfANation TONIGHT at 10|9c on @ABC. #SoulOfANation pic.twitter.com/dhGx6rWZHA

— Soul of a Nation (@SoulofaNation) March 16, 2021

The Masked Singer host further acknowledged that his remarks “hurt people,” and he’s seeking to learn from his mistakes. “I’m going to lean into it,” he said. “I want to understand why I hurt you, what did I say? What are these tropes? Educate me.”

“I’m not seeking forgiveness, I’m seeking for growth” Cannon told Davis. “It’s not about cancel culture, it’s about counsel culture.”

“My journey’s not going to stop whether the person watching this forgives me or not,” he continued. “I’m still going to hopefully, through this process, be on the right side of history and bring people closer together.”