ViacomCBS has ended its long-running association with Nick Cannon after the actor and TV show host made anti-Semitic comments on his podcast "Cannon's Class."

"ViacomCBS condemns bigotry of any kind and we categorically denounce all forms of anti-Semitism," ViacomCBS said in a statement to Variety. "We have spoken with Nick Cannon about an episode of his podcast 'Cannon's Class' on YouTube, which promoted hateful speech and spread anti-Semitic conspiracy theories."

The statement continued: "While we support ongoing education and dialogue in the fight against bigotry, we are deeply troubled that Nick has failed to acknowledge or apologize for perpetuating anti-Semitism, and we are terminating our relationship with him. We are committed to doing better in our response to incidents of anti-Semitism, racism, and bigotry. ViacomCBS will have further announcements on our efforts to combat hate of all kinds."

Cannon made the comments in a June 30 episode of his podcast in which he interviewed the rapper Professor Griff, who has also provoked a backlash for anti-Semitic comments.

 

In the podcast, Cannon spoke about anti-Semitic conspiracy theories in connection with the Rothschild family and said people who didn't have the skin pigment melanin were "a little less."

Cannon also said Black people were the "true Hebrews" and therefore could not be anti-Semitic: "It's never hate speech, you can't be anti-Semitic when we are the Semitic people. When we are the same people who they want to be. That's our birthright. We are the true Hebrews."

On Monday, Cannon took to Twitter and Facebook to respond to the criticism.

"Anyone who knows me knows that I have no hate in my heart nor malice intentions," he wrote. "I do not condone hate speech nor the spread of hateful rhetoric. We are living in a time when it is more important than ever to promote unity and understanding."

 

Cannon also tweeted: "Until then, I hold myself accountable for this moment and take full responsibility because My intentions are only to show that as a beautiful human species we have way more commonalities than differences, So let's embrace those as well as each other. We All Family!"

Cannon has been associated with ViacomCBS since the 1990s when he was an actor on Nickelodeon, while he has also hosted Fox's "The Masked Singer" and NBC's "America's Got Talent."

The actor is also known for his marriage with Mariah Carey, which lasted from 2008 to 2016, though they separated in 2014. The pair share 9-year-old twins — Moroccan, a boy, and Monroe, a girl.