Day N Vegas is the first hip-hop festival to react to DaBaby’s comments and the resulting backlash. The festival didn’t release an extensive statement as Lollapalooza and Governor’s Ball did, but it made the announcement that DaBaby had been removed from the lineup with an updated lineup post featuring DaBaby’s “Rockstar” collaborator Roddy Ricch added in his place.
DaBaby lost the two prior festival spots after his comments from the Rolling Loud stage two Sundays ago in which he prompted male fans to light their cell phones “if you ain’t sucking dick in the parking lot.” He also made some off-color comments about HIV/AIDS, saying, “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.”
After his words sparked a backlash online as fans deplored his outlook and spreading misinformation about STDs, DaBaby doubled down with the release of his “Giving What It’s Supposed To Give” video, which he captioned with a defiant message on Instagram. He kept doing so, reacting with derision toward Questlove for calling him out and Boohooman for ending their partnership. Meanwhile, stars like Dua Lipa, Elton John, and Madonna expressed concerns at his statements, while radio stations have taken to playing a feature-less version of the Dua Lipa song “Levitating” in response to his refusal to acknowledge the harm of his words.