Miley Cyrus reaches out to DaBaby amid a backlash: “Knowledge is power!”

Miley Cyrus joined a growing chorus of celebrities this week to speak out against DaBaby’s homophobic remarks – but she may be the first to take a proactive approach.

In a note posted to Instagram on Wednesday, the pop star urged DaBaby to “check your DMs” and invited the rapper for an open dialogue following last week’s controversy.

“As a proud and loyal member of the LGBTQIA + community, much of my life has been devoted to fostering love, acceptance and openness,” she wrote. “It’s easier to cancel someone than to find forgiveness and compassion in ourselves or take the time to change hearts and minds. There is no more room for division if we want to continue to progress! Knowledge is power! I know I still have so much to learn.

In a caption addressed directly to DaBaby, Cyrus said she “would love to talk and see how we can learn from each other and help be part of a fairer and more understanding future!”

She also tagged the Happy Hippie Foundation, an LGBTQ advocacy group she founded in 2014, as well as Greater Than AIDS, which is dedicated to raising awareness about HIV / AIDS.

DaBaby, real name Jonathan Lyndale Kirk, has spent much of the past week in a fog of controversy after making a series of derogatory statements about women, gays and people living with HIV / AIDS at the Rolling Loud Festival in Miami at the end of July.

TMZ footage of the rapper’s performance caught him urging fans to put their phones on “if you don’t show up today with HIV / AIDS or other STDs that will kill you in two. at three weeks “.

The comments were quickly condemned by stars like Elton John and Madonna. A number of music festivals, including Chicago’s Lollapalooza and New York’s Governors Ball, have removed the rapper from their lineups.

Although DaBaby seemed impervious to the fallout at first, he issued a formal apology on his social media platforms on Monday.

“I appreciate the many people who have come to me with kindness, who have contacted me privately to offer me wisdom, education and resources,” he wrote. “This is what I needed and it was received.