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Soulja Boy apologises after being 'tricked into recording antisemitic propaganda'
'I thought it was just a shoutout for a fan. I didn't know it had a negative meaning behind it'
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Soulja Boy has issued an apology for recording a promotional video for an antisemitic group, stating he was tricked into doing so.
The video was created on the social media platform Cameo, where users can pay celebrities to film pre-scripted messages. BuzzFeed News first brought attention to the video, which had been purchased by members of a group calling itself the GDL, or Goyim Defense League.
“I was tricked,” Soulja Boy told The New York Times. “I apologize to anyone I offended. I thought it was just a shoutout for a fan. I didn’t know it had a negative meaning behind it.”
“Shoutout to Handsome Truth and Sway at GDL,” he says in the now-deleted video, referencing what appears to be the two individuals behind the group. "GDL for life, b****." Soulja Boy, whose other recorded videos on Cameo are largely birthday wishes and congratulations, charges $100 per message.
Similar videos were also recorded by Brett Favre and Andy Dick, who have also both apologised and stressed that they were unaware of the true nature of the messages.
"I was distressed to learn that the request came from an anti-Semitic group that reposted my video with comments implying that I endorsed their mission," Favre wrote on Facebook, after explaining he'd been misled to believe the message was for a US veterans organisation. "Nothing could be further from the truth. I am therefore donating my $500 Cameo fee to Charities supporting their fight against hate and bigotry."
"Like most Americans, I am sickened by what these groups stand for and concerned about their role in fueling today’s negative political climate. I thought I was creating a message to support the brave men and women of our military forces. Had I understood the source of the request, I never would have fulfilled it. All of us – myself included – need to be vigilant to protect this country from these dangers."
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