BET finally has responded to harsh criticism — and a bitter diss track — from Lil Nas X over his lack of nominations at the 2022 BET Music Awards.
“We love Little Nas X,” the network said, noting “his extraordinary talent and creativity.” However, the statement continued, BET had nothing to do with him not being nominated, because “no one from BET serves as a member of the Voting Academy.”
“We love Lil Nas X. He was nominated for a Best New Artist BET Award in 2020, and we proudly showcased his extraordinary talent and creativity on the show twice: he performed “Old Town Road” with Billy Ray Cyrus at “BET Awards” 2019 and his “BET Awards” 2021 performance was a highlight of our show. No one cheered louder that night than BET,” the network said.
“Unfortunately, this year, he was not nominated by BET’s Voting Academy, which is comprised of an esteemed group of nearly 500 entertainment professionals in the fields of music, television, film, digital marketing, sports journalism, public relations, influencers, and creative arts. No one from BET serves as a member of the Voting Academy,” the statement continued.
“At BET, we are passionate advocates for the wonderful diversity that exists within our community. We are committed to using all of our platforms to provide visibility and inclusion for all of the many intersections of the Black community,” the network concluded.
When the awards’nominees were announced on June 1, the “Industry Baby” rapper, who is openly gay, tweeted in a thread he later deleted, “I just feel like black gay ppl have to fight to be seen in this world and even when we make it to the top, mfs try to pretend we are invisible.”
Then on Tuesday, he released “Late to the Party,” a bitter diss track that begins by repeating “f— BET” several times. The track also references the fact that three of the songs from his Grammy-nominated debut album “Montero” landed on Billboard’s Top 10 list after it was released in September. Read more about that here.
