Snoop Dogg brought star power to Jackson State University on Tuesday (October), stepping into a campus auditorium for a surprise appearance during GLAAD’s “Generation Z and HIV: Human Issue. Southern Solution. An HBCU Tour.”
The Hip-Hop icon joined students, advocates and health leaders for a timely conversation about HIV prevention in Black communities and his recent remarks about LGBTQ representation in media.
The event marked the kickoff of GLAAD’s HBCU tour, with Jackson State serving as the first stop.
Snoop sat down with Darian Aaron, GLAAD’s Director of Local News for the U.S. South, for a fireside-style discussion that tackled both his own learning curve and the broader HIV crisis affecting the South, per WLBT3.
“HIV in Black communities is far from over, and Black people in the South, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, socioeconomic status, or number of total partners, remain at disproportionate risk,” Aaron said. “The tour will help inform and protect students with essential knowledge about HIV, including that it is preventable with an injection or daily pill, as well as survivable and untransmittable when properly treated.”
Hosted by Spectrum at JSU and backed by pharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences, the program aimed to deliver critical education around HIV prevention and harm reduction to Gen Z students at historically Black colleges and universities.
The appearance came just months after Snoop faced widespread criticism for comments made during an episode of the It’s Giving podcast, where he expressed discomfort with LGBTQ+ themes in children’s programming. Recalling a moment with his grandson while watching Disney’s Lightyear, Snoop said:
“I’m scared to go to the movies now. Y’all throwing me in the middle of stuff that I don’t have an answer for… It threw me for a loop. Do we really need to show this at their age? They’re going to ask questions, and I don’t have the answers.”
The remarks drew backlash across social media and news outlets, with many accusing the rapper of being tone-deaf.
In October, Snoop took a more affirming stance by releasing “Love is Love,” a song featured on his Doggyland kids’ show that promotes family diversity and acceptance.
GLAAD, the world’s largest LGBTQ media advocacy group, selected Jackson State to launch its tour, aiming to reach students with real-world information about HIV and how stigma, misinformation and silence continue to fuel the epidemic.
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