BET Apologies To Usher For “Audio Malfunction” That Muted Part Of Lifetime Achievement Speech

BET has apologized to Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Usher for an “audio malfunction” that muted about five minutes of a 13-minute speech during last night’s live broadcast of the 2024 BET Awards.

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In a statement released to Deadline, a BET spokesperson said, “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. Due to an audio malfunction during the LIVE telecast, portions of his speech were inadvertently muted. We extend our sincere apologies to USHER as we couldn’t be more grateful for his participation in Culture’s Biggest Night. Fans can catch his full uninterrupted speech across BET platforms and tonight’s encore on BET.”

Early in his speech, Usher was occasionally bleeped for using curse words, but the lengthier muting was the audio glitch, BET says.

Usher was honored for his 30-year career, with Childish Gambino , Keke Palmer , Chloe Bailey , Teyana Taylor and more performing a musical tribute to the singer at the 2024 BET Awards in Los Angeles.

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At one point during his speech, Usher urged patience and forgiveness in life, saying he had forgiven his absent father.

“We gotta be willing to forgive,” Usher said, adding, “You’re standing before a man who had to forgive a man who never showed up, ever, and look at what I made with it. Look at what I was able to usher in. That’s what’s real and that’s what makes us human.”

See Usher’s full speech below.

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