In 2021, DaBaby took the stage at Rolling Loud Miami, where he made some comments that would end up haunting him for years to come.
“If you didn’t show up today with HIV, AIDS, or any of them deadly sexually transmitted diseases that’ll make you die in two to three weeks, then put your cellphone lighter up,” he told the crowd. “Ladies, if your p—- smell like water, put your cellphone lighter up. Fellas, if you ain’t sucking d— in the parking lot, put your cellphone lighter up.”
The backlash started immediately, but the following day, the rapper doubled down. "My gay fans, they take care of themselves," he explained on his Instagram Story. "They ain’t no nasty gay n—as. See what I’m saying? They ain’t no junkies in the street. The hell you talking about, n—as? Then I said if you ain’t sucking d— in the parking lot, put your cellphone lighter up. You know what my gay fans did? Put that motherf—ing light up, n—a, ’cause my gay fans ain’t going for that. They got class. They ain’t sucking no d— in no parking lot.”
DaBaby Homophobia Controversy
DaBaby later issued an apology on Twitter/X, but the damage had already been done. He lost brand deals, was dropped from various festival lineups, and more. He also got called out by several of his celebrity peers for homophobia, misogyny, and spreading misinformation. Now, he says his career still isn't what it used to be.
During a recent appearance on the Million Dollaz Worth Of Game podcast, he revealed that he used to make anywhere from $300K to $500K per show. After the controversy, however, those numbers took a nosedive. Despite the considerable hit to his earnings, DaBaby kept performing, making it clear that he had no intentions of giving up.
"I went back down to like $30K," he admitted. "I went and got that."
