BET Awards’ Usher’s Acceptance Speech lifetime achievement award it was heartfelt, occasionally profane and drawn out – and few people got to hear it.
The 13-minute speech was widely censored by the network, leaving viewers at home curious to know what Usher he said. A BET spokesperson told the Associated Press that “due to an audio malfunction during the live broadcast, portions of his speech were inadvertently muted. We extend our sincere apologies to USHER as we could not be more grateful for their participation.”
The full version of the speech is now available at BET YouTube channel and will be included in a rebroadcast on Monday, with some profanity removed. Much of his speech centered on the idea of fatherhood, forgiveness and his three-decade long career. It appears that the heavy censorship began shortly after Usher said “Sorry, I’m going to swear and tell you how I really feel” right at the beginning of his acceptance.
He said he entered music mogul L.A. Reid’s office at 12 or 13 and telling a room full of executives that I could do it. “That wasn’t ego talking. I renamed that word that day,” he said in an excerpt of the speech that was not aired. “I rebranded that word that day. I expressed goals out loud.”
O R&star B is an eight-time Grammy winner and recently wrapped up a two-year Las Vegas residency, “Usher: My Way” at Park MGM. In February, he released his first solo album in eight years, and in August he is scheduled to begin a 24-city U.S. tour titled “Past Present Future.”
Usher 2024 Super Bowl halftime performance was acclaimed and included cameos from stars like Alicia Keys, HER, Jermaine Dupri, Lil Jon and Ludacris. His album “Confessions” has sold over 10 million units in the US, ranking it among one of the best-selling musical projects of all time. He released number 1 hits such as “Yeah!” with Ludacris and Lil Jon, “Burn” and “Confessions Part II”.
A rebroadcast of the 2024 BET Awards aired on BET on Monday at 8 p.m. ET.
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