R&B icon Usher received the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award at the BET Awards on Sunday night, held at the Peacock Theater in Downtown Los Angeles.
The “You Got it Bad” singer, who has had a standout year, was celebrated with a tribute medley from an all-star ensemble featuring performances by Keke Palmer, Coco Jones, Summer Walker, Teyana Taylor, Childish Gambino, Victoria Monét, Marsha Ambrosius, Chlöe Bailey, and Latto.
Here’s when his big moment took a turn. When Usher took the stage to accept his award, viewers at home noticed that his speech was heavily censored. Like weird muting all over the place.
On Monday, BET clarified that the muting was due to a technical issue. Oh, that part.
“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,” BET declared in a statement.
“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.”
During the parts that we could hear during the speech, Usher reflected on his 30-year career, expressing gratitude to those who supported him along the way. As expected. He also got relatable, delving into personal matters, discussing his journey to forgive his absent father and his efforts to co-parent with his ex-wife, Tameka Foster.
“We gotta be willing to forgive. We gotta be willing to be open. I’m telling you — 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,” he said onstage. “Look at what I was able to usher in. That’s what’s real and that’s what makes us human.” Get this, Usher made those remarks while standing onstage alongside fellow industry icons Babyface, L.A. Reid, Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis, and Jermaine Dupri.
ICYMI, in addition to receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award, Usher snagged the award for Best R&B Male Artist.
Usher, stay winning. CLAPPING EMOJI CLAPPING EMOJI, TROPHY EMOJI. Spelling that out was on purpose, ya’ll – ha!
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