Usher Raymond has been in show business for three decades and has achieved several high marks in a career worthy of continual celebration. The Atlanta by way of Tennessee native accepted the BET Lifetime Achievement Award on Sunday (June 30) but much of his speech was muted due to some profanity and X wasn’t having it.
Usher was treated to an extensive series of tribute performances from the likes of Childish Gambino, Keke Palmer, Coco Jones, Teyana Taylor, Victoria Monét, Chlöe, Tinashe, Summer Walker, Marsha Ambrosius, and Latto at the 2024 BET Awards in Los Angeles, Calif.
Of course, there have been mixed reviews of the tribute performances but kudos to the performers for rocking the stage under that sort of pressure in front of one of the world’s best live entertainers.
When it was time to accept the BET Lifetime Achievement Award, Usher, full of his usual radiant charm, wowed the audience with a confident and comical speech that started normally as Ursher allowed “The A” to come out at the tail end of the speech.
“I don’t know, man, is it too early for me to receive it? Because I’m still running and gunning and I still love this sh*t like I did when I was eight years old,” Usher said in an earlier portion of his speech.
Later in the speech in which he honors Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis, Babyface, and L.A. Reid, he said, “[to] the men who motivated me, who speak to me, who have spoken to me, who have been solid no matter how f*cked up it may have been…sorry, I’m cursing to let you know how I really feel.”
A TikTok user recorded the speech, which can be seen below and we do urge caution and there is profanity present. Keep scrolling to see reactions to the speech from X.
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Photo: Getty