BET says 'audio malfunction' caused heavy censorship of Usher's speech at the 2024 BET Awards
By MARIA SHERMAN
Posted 7/1/24
Usher’s acceptance speech of the BET Awards’ lifetime achievement award was heartfelt, occasionally profane and lengthy — and few people got to hear it. The 13-minute speech was largely …
You must be a member to read this story.
Join our family of readers for as little as $5 per month and support local, unbiased journalism.
Current print subscribers can create a free account by clicking here
Otherwise, follow the link below to join.
To Our Valued Readers –
Visitors to our website will be limited to five stories per month unless they opt to subscribe. The five stories do not include our exclusive content written by our journalists.
For $6.99, less than 20 cents a day, digital subscribers will receive unlimited access to YourValley.net, including exclusive content from our newsroom and access to our Daily Independent e-edition.
Our commitment to balanced, fair reporting and local coverage provides insight and perspective not found anywhere else.
Your financial commitment will help to preserve the kind of honest journalism produced by our reporters and editors. We trust you agree that independent journalism is an essential component of our democracy. Please click here to subscribe.
Need to set up your free e-Newspaper all-access account? click here.
Non-subscribers
Click here to see your options for becoming a subscriber.
Register to comment
Click here create a free account for posting comments.
Note that free accounts do not include access to premium content on this site.
I am anchor
BET says 'audio malfunction' caused heavy censorship of Usher's speech at the 2024 BET Awards
Usher poses with the Lifetime Achievement award in the press room during the BET Awards on Sunday, June 30, 2024, at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
Posted
By MARIA SHERMAN
Usher's acceptance speech of the BET Awards' lifetime achievement award was heartfelt, occasionally profane and lengthy — and few people got to hear it.
The 13-minute speech was largely censored by the network, leaving viewers at home curious to know what Usher said. A BET spokesperson told The Associated Press that “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."
A full version of the speech is now available on BET's YouTube channel and will be included in a Monday rebroadcast, with a few profanities removed. Much of his speech centered on the idea of fatherhood, forgiveness, and his three-decades' long career. It appears that the heavy censoring started shortly after Usher said “Sorry, I'm gonna curse and let you know how I really feel" early on in his acceptance.
He recounted walking into music mogul L.A. Reid's office at 12 or 13 years old and telling a room for of executives that he'd make it. “That wasn't ego speaking. I rebranded that word that day,” he said in a section of the speech that didn't air. “I rebranded that word that day. I expressed goals out loud.”
The R&B superstar is an eight-time Grammy winner who recently ended a two-year Las Vegas residency, “Usher: My Way” at the Park MGM. In February, he released his first solo album in eight years, and in August is scheduled to kick off a 24-city U.S. tour titled “Past Present Future.”
Usher’s 2024 Super Bowl halftime performance drew acclaim and included guest appearances by such stars as Alicia Keys, H.E.R., Jermaine Dupri, Lil Jon and Ludacris. His album “Confessions” has sold more than 10 million units in the U.S., ranking it among one of the best-selling music projects of all time. It launched No. 1 hits such as “Yeah!” with Ludacris and Lil Jon, “Burn” and “Confessions Part II.”
A rebroadcast of the 2024 BET Awards will air on BET tonight at 8 p.m. Eastern.
!role~Preview!mt~photo!fmt~JPEG%20Baseline)
