Boohoo cuts DaBaby ties following on-stage comments

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Jul 29, 2021

Boohoo has moved quickly to protect its reputation, cutting its links with rapper DaBaby after what was seen as a homophobic rant during a live show at the weekend saw him coming in for heavy criticism.

Its BoohooMan label had launched a large collection with him only a few weeks ago and worked with him on marketing campaigns. But an Instagram post said it would no longer do so. 

"BoohooMan condemn the use of homophobic language and confirm we will no longer be working with DaBaby," it said. "Diversity and inclusion are part of the Boohoo Groups DNA and we pride ourselves on representing the diverse customers we serve across the globe. We stand by and support the LGBTQ+ community, and do not tolerate any hate speech or discrimination in any form”.

On Sunday in Miami, DaBaby had said on stage: “If you didn’t show up today with HIV, AIDS, any of them deadly sexually transmitted diseases that’ll make you die in two, three weeks, then put your cellphone light up.” He went on to make other remarks about women and gay men but saw an almost instant backlash.

DaBaby had defended himself on Monday, referencing this gay fans and citing the interactions that happen during a live performance. But his words didn’t help the situation with a number of people, including Dua Lipa and Elton John, criticising him.

Boohoo’s move comes as it’s working hard to burnish its own reputation that was damaged last year by supply chain scandals.