Jul
02
Lil Nas X’s criticism of BET after not garnering any nominations at this year’s BET Awards has arguably overshadowed the awards themselves. Nas has made his disapproval plentifully clear, from noting “the bigger problem of homophobia in the black community” earlier this month, to the release of the song “Late to Da Party” on Friday complete with a “Fuck BET” chorus line and album artwork featuring a urine-soaked BET Award in a toilet.
The surprise shutout, however, wasn’t the beginning of any skirmish between Lil Nas X and BET, but rather the latest in an already shaky relationship over a year in the making. As the grammy-winning rapper and multiple members of his team claim to Rolling Stones, before getting the go-ahead to perform at last year’s award show — where Lil Nas X would make headlines after kissing one of his backing dancers during his performance — BET was hesitant when booking Nas, asking for his team’s confirmation that he wasn’t a “satanist or devil worshiper,” the rapper claims. And after Nas finished his performance, the kiss seems left certain network producers upset.
“My relationship with BET has been painful and strained for quite some time. It didn’t start with this year’s nominations like most people might think,” Lil Nas X tells Rolling Stones in a statement. “They did let me perform on their show last year, but only after [I gave] assurances that I was not a satanist or devil worshiper, and that my performance would be appropriate for their audience.”
In a statement to Rolling Stones, a BET spokesperson said that the “summation of events around Lil Nas X’s 2021 BET Awards performance is simply untrue.” “Since last year’s performance, we have been in touch to work on other projects,” the rep adds. “We are still excited about his previous performances and continue to wish him well. But today, we are focused on culture’s biggest night and delivering history-making moments for fans worldwide.”
Nas’s statement marks the latest and most complex in his barbs at BET. After the network announced its nominees for Sunday’s award show, Nas posted several since-deleted tweets criticizing his lack of nominations despite releasing several hits off one of the most acclaimed albums of last year. “Thank you BET awards. An outstanding zero nominations again,” he tweeted. “Black excellence!”
In another since-deleted tweet, he wrote, “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.”
BET issued a statement following Nas’s criticism, referring to his Best New Artist nomination in 2020 and defending this year’s nominations by noting that it’s their voting body and not the network itself that selects the nominees. “BET’s Voting Academy … 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,” the network said. “No one from
