The final day of Lollapalooza 2021, Aug. 1, found the beloved Chicago festival commenting publicly on the statements made by rapper DaBaby regarding HIV and gay men. 

The North Carolina rapper took center stage during the July 25 Rolling Loud Festival in Miami and urged the audience to “put [their] cell phone light up, apart from those who were HIV-positive or were gay men who had sex in car parks. 

“With that in mind, DaBaby will no longer be performing at Grant Park tonight,” officials for the festival tweeted. “Lollapalooza was founded on diversity, inclusivity, respect, and love.” 

Rapper Young Thug took over DaBaby’s slot during the Sunday night festivities.

Also, DaBaby was contractually released from a benefit concert for the Working Families Party, a US political party that says it wants “freedom and equality for all”. 

“We have to hold people accountable and live to our values, which is why there is a change in our line-up,” the party stated. Boohoo, an online fashion retailer that also has partnership ties to DaBaby via a clothing deal, also parted ways.

While the controversy was generating heat online, DaBaby continued to doubled-down on antagonizing others, after being put on blast by Questlove over his sexist and homophobic remarks. “I ain’t even tryna be funny when I say. I do not know who dis n**** is dawg'," DaBaby’s July 29 Instagram Stories post said in reference to the Roots drummer and frontman. "And I do not care ‘bout losing you as a fan my boy lol @questlove. You or any other nigga who wanna play follow the leader. This superstar was a fan of [a] stand up n****, yeen never seen one of these huh?”

Numerous musicians have spoken out against the rapper’s remarks, including Sir Elton John, who founded his AIDS Foundation charity in 1992. “We must break down the stigma(s) around HIV and not spread it. As musicians, it is our job to bring people together,” Sir Elton wrote on Instagram. DaBaby ultimately tweeted an apology, saying he had been “insensitive” and “anybody who done ever been [affected] by AIDS/HIV y’all got the right to be upset.”

Following his insensitive remarks, the rapper dropped a music video for “Giving What It’s Supposed to Give,” which featured a pseudo-apology on his behalf.

In it, DaBaby is shown holding up a sign reading “AIDS,” and at the end credits, rainbow letters display the message: “Don’t fight hate with hate. My apologies for being me the same way you want the freedom to be you.”