Keith Lee And His Response To Taraji P. Henson’s BET Awards Mix-Up, Explained

Keith Lee has opened up about the now viral mishap with Taraji P. Henson at the 2024 BET Awards , as well as how he initially responded to it all.

TikTok food critic and influencer attended Sunday’s event in Los Angeles with his wife, Ronnie Lee, and had front-row seats. Henson, a three-time host of the show, experienced a notable mix-up that has sparked quite a stir on social media, Entertainment Tonight reported.

First, during a segment intended to honor and appreciate individuals, Henson aimed to “give people their flowers.” However, what was meant to be a positive moment turned awkward when the 53-year-old mistakenly mispronounced Halle Bailey’s name while presenting her with a rose.

The singer accepted it gracefully as Henson walked to the front row where Lee and his wife were seated. Things took an unexpected turn when she instead approached TikTok influencer Jordan Howlett, known as Jordan The Stallion on the app. She asked him if he was married and began flirting with him. The Baby Boy star then turned to the camera and shared some words initially meant for Lee.

“Mr. Keith Lee, I know what you’re thinking right now, this is about a 10.9 outta 10 ? ” He swiftly corrected Henson by pointing to Keith, seated on the other side beside his wife. Ronnie joined in, pointing toward Keith, and they all laughed at the mix-up.

Henson quickly redirected her attention toward Lee and apologized for the faux pas before repeating the bit to him.

“I got caught up in my own inner monologue, I’m so sorry,” she told Lee.

“You fine, too,” she said. “So call me. Give him his flower.”

According to All HipHop , Lee took to TikTok on Monday and candidly shared his thoughts on the incident with Henson after a video of him putting the rose she gave him on the floor went viral and received a mixed response and social media.

“First and foremost, I want to start by saying I am not upset at Taraji P. Henson by any stretch of the imagination. In my opinion, she smoked it last night,” he said. “I don’t think for one second Taraji had any ill will or any ill intentions behind the situation. The situation happened the way it did. It is what it is.”

He continued, “The entire segment on the production side felt extremely rushed. Not only did it feel rushed, it did not feel intentional. It did not feel purposeful.”

While Lee mentioned that he and his wife had enjoyed the show, he had a few choice words for BET, accusing them of rushing the production.

“I’ve always spoken about my social anxiety, and for me just to get out and be in that moment was more than enough for me. So to take me and my wife out of our seats, put us in different seats, give Taraji no direction to who we are and what we do felt extremely unprepared and unprofessional to me,” Lee said in the clip.

He also addressed the now deleted video of him throwing the rose that was given to him on the floor.

“It was deleted because my message was completely misconstrued,” he said.

“The reason I did this had nothing to do with Taraji P Henson,“ Lee added. “I whole-heartedly believe that wasn’t my rose.”