BET Issues Apology for Muting Portions Of Usher’s Acceptance Speech at BET Awards

BET has issued an apology for censoring a significant portion of Usher’s acceptance speech during the BET Awards on Sunday.

Usher accepted the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, following a star-studded tribute to him by Childish Gambino, Victoria Monét, Coco Jones, and others. During his speech, Usher admitted that he didn’t prepare words because he wanted to speak from the heart. However, he soon began using profanity, prompting the audio to be muted for nearly four minutes out of his 13-minute speech.

RELATED: Well Deserved: Usher to Be Honored With Lifetime Achievement Award At The 2024 BET Awards!

“Due to an audio malfunction during the LIVE telecast, portions of his speech were inadvertently muted,” BET said in an exclusive statement to @billboard. “Celebrating global icon Usher on our stage with a star-studded tribute and having him accept his award with a heartfelt speech was an honor… We extend our sincere apologies to Usher as we couldn’t be more grateful for his participation in Culture’s Biggest Night.”

Social media was buzzing with speculation about the reason behind the censorship of Usher’s speech, with many attributing it to the use of explicit language. There were theories circulating that he may have been discussing his relationship with Sean “Diddy” Combs, although this was quickly refuted by attendees and an uncensored version of the speech posted on BET’s YouTube channel the following morning.

RELATED: Usher Says He Shouldn’t Have Smacked Nicki Minaj’s Butt During Performance And Claims Alicia Keys’ Halftime Hug Was Simply Innocent

The Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Usher by Antonio “L.A.” Reid and Babyface, the co-founders of LaFace Records who had signed the singer at a young age. Usher was joined on stage by his mentor Jermaine Dupri and other individuals.

The post BET Issues Apology for Muting Portions Of Usher’s Acceptance Speech at BET Awards appeared first on Hollywood Unlocked .