By COLlive reporter
Television host and multimedia entrepreneur Nick Cannon is apparently learning about the life of the Rebbe in an attempt to better understand the Jewish community after his public blunder.
Cannon, who has a following of millions on social media, has lost his contract with the ViacomCBS media corporation after expressing anti-Semitic comments and conspiracy theories on his podcast.
He has since publically apologized for “the hurtful and divisive words” and has been holding discussions with Jewish figures, the latest was a Zoom call with Rabbi Noam Marans of the American Jewish Committee (AJC).
“Apology is a step, but atonement is a process,” the 39-year-old Cannon said, according to a report on Billboard.
Cannon explained how he’s been expanding his initial apology into atonement by his education and actions, the website reported.
That included fasting on Tisha B’Av, taking a tour of the Chassidic community in the Crown Heights neighborhood and attending a Shabbos meal.
Another example Cannon gave was reading the bestselling book by Joseph Telushkin, “Rebbe: The Life and Teachings of Menachem M. Schneerson, the Most Influential Rabbi in Modern History.”
Recently, Cannon posted public reviews of the books “The Sunflower” by Nazi Hunter Simon Wiesenthal and “How to Fight Anti-Semitism” by former New York Times opinion writer Bari Weiss. He has yet to post a book report about “Rebbe.”
Cannon said that he hails from a Black and Jewish family on his mother’s side. “My great-grandfather was a Spanish Rabbi. He’s a Sephardic Jewish man,” he revealed during the Zoom call.
But it seems like Cannon still has a long way to go. When asked about Louis Farrakhan, the anti-Semitic leader of the Nation of Islam, Cannon rejected his comments but wouldn’t condemn him.
“I can’t ever throw away a leader to the Black community,” he said.
VIDEO: Cannon speaks with Rabbi Marans on AJC
Let him meet Rabbi Mangel & his grandson, and hear first hand about what Rabbi Mangel went through. Then let him look at how “his people” react today as opposed to how we react to ongoing hate. Reading a book isn’t going to cut it.
Fake Forgivness Ocen Vei to him
to all those who are saying its fake,
what do you want him to do, he’s reading a book about the rebbe and is visiting crown heights.
i feel like some people look to complain, like calm down people.