Soulja Boy has been forced to issue an apology after he was ‘tricked’ into recording and posting an anti-Semitic video message.
The ‘Crank That’ rapper had been using the website Cameo, a platform that lets fans buy personalised videos from celebrities.
The rapper was reportedly charging $100 per video.
Members of a group going under the name of Goyim Defense League (GDL) used the app to purchase a video from Soulja Boy, BuzzFeed News reported.
Soulja Boy, real name DeAndre Cortez Way, said in the now-deleted video: “Shoutout to Handsome Truth and Sway at GDL, GDL for life, bitch.”
Speaking to The New York Times, Soulja Boy said: “I was tricked, I apologize to anyone I offended. I thought it was just a shout-out for a fan. I didn’t know it had a negative meaning behind it.”
American footballer Brett Favre and actor Andy Dick were also duped into recording similar messages via the app – they have both apologised and maintain that they were unaware of the true meaning behind the requested messages.
Cameo has since banned the account responsible for the anti-Semitic requests, while the app’s CEO, Steven Galanis, called the incidents “sickening”.
“There will be bad actors,” Galanis said, “Us, as Cameo, all we can do is try to mitigate it and make sure we are getting in front of it.”
