Boohoo drops rapper DaBaby following HIV comments

UK fashion giant Boohoo has ended its partnership announced earlier this year with rapper DaBaby following comments he made about people with HIV during a concert in the US.

Boohoo, which announced in June its menswear brand had struck a deal with the US rapper for a limited-edition 100-piece collection, announced on Wednesday the partnership has been scrapped.

The group said on Twitter: “BoohooMan condemns the use of homophobic language and confirm we will no longer be working with DaBaby.

“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.”

It comes after footage emerged of DaBaby at the Rolling Loud festival in Miami on Sunday telling the audience to put their phone lights in the air unless they had HIV or AIDS, or were gay men who performed sex acts in car parks.

DaBaby apologised for his words on Twitter, saying: “Anybody who done ever been effected by AIDS/HIV y’all got the right to be upset, what I said was insensitive even though I have no intentions on offending anybody. So my apologies.

“But the LGBT community... I ain’t trippin on y’all, do you. y’all business is y’all business.”