Usher was celebrated with the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2024 BET Awards, but an overzealous attempt at censorship marred the moment. During his acceptance speech, Usher’s use of profanity led to nearly the entire speech being muted for the viewing audience, sparking frustration and outcry from fans.
In his speech, the Atlanta superstar expressed gratitude towards many individuals, including Johnta Austin, his wife Jennifer Goicoechea, his children, and even LeBron James and his son Bronny. However, after uttering a single curse word, the censoring team muted the majority of his speech, leaving fans with just snippets of his heartfelt thanks.
Social media erupted with reactions, many poking fun at the aggressive censorship. One user shared a gif of Pharrell Williams hitting a red button repeatedly on “The Voice,” captioned, “The censor person in the back during Usher’s speech.” Another posted a gif of Bow Wow playing an imaginary piano during his 2021 Verzuz, highlighting the absurdity of the prolonged muting.
The censor person in the back during Usher speech #BETAwards pic.twitter.com/cVjmXMfWOO
— LENA ♈️ (@_sdm26) July 1, 2024
The person censoring Usher’s speech: #BETAwards pic.twitter.com/PaqtdhkjPH
— patweetme (@patweet_me) July 1, 2024
Fans demanded BET rectify the situation by releasing the unedited speech. “Are they gonna upload Usher’s unedited speech on BET+ or something? This consistent muting is ridiculous,” one user tweeted. Another echoed, “It’s the silent acceptance speech for the viewers at home for me. Just go to commercial. Congratulations, Usher! Sh*t.”
