Lil Nas X has been outspoken about his lack of nominations at the BET Awards this year, saying he feels like he has to “fight to be seen in this world” as a gay Black artist
Jack Harlow is standing up for friend and “Industry Baby” collaborator Lil Nas X at the 2022 BET Awards.
On the red carpet ahead of the show on Sunday, the rapper, 24, rocked a Lil Nas X T-shirt in support of the musician, who has expressed his frustrations with BET in recent weeks over his lack of nominations this year.
In response, Lil Nas X, 23, shared a photo of Harlow — who is up for best male hip-hop artist and is slated to perform during the show — in the T-shirt on Twitter, writing, “Wow I really love this man.”
Upon the reveal of the 2022 BET Award nominations earlier this month, Lil Nas X called out the organization for not recognizing his latest album Montero or its singles, including “Industry Baby” and “That’s What I Want,” in multiple since-deleted posts.
“thank you bet awards. an outstanding zero nominations,” he wrote on Twitter. “black excellence!”
After a fan questioned his tweet and asked why he felt he deserved to be nominated, Lil Nas X responded: “idk maybe 3 of the biggest songs of last year & a critically acclaimed album… i feel like that should’ve helped me a bit.”
Montero, which came out in September, reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200 albums chart and was nominated for album of the year at the Grammy Awards.
In a follow-up tweet, Lil Nas X, who is openly gay, further explained his frustrations, and said it was less about his lack of nominations and more about what he feels is a lack of acceptance.
“this not over no BET award,” he wrote in one post. “this is about the bigger problem of homophobia in the black community, y’all can sit and pretend all u want but imma risk it all for us.”
“Doesn’t even have to be me nominated,” he wrote in another. “i just feel like black gay ppl have to fight to be seen in this world and even when we make it to the top [they] try to pretend we are invisible.”
The BET Awards responded in a statement on June 7, writing, “We love Lil Nas X. He was nominated for a Best New Artist BET Award in 2020, and we proudly showcased his extraordinary talent and creativity on the show twice: he performed “Old Town Road” with Billy Ray Cyrus at BET Awards 2019 and his BET Awards 2021 performance was a highlight of our show. No one cheered louder that night than BET.
Unfortunately, this year, he was not nominated by BET’s Voting Academy, which is comprised of an esteemed group of nearly 500 entertainment professionals in the fields of music, television, film, digital marketing, sports journalism, public relations, influencers, and creative arts. No one from BET serves as a member of the Voting Academy.
At BET, we are passionate advocates for the wonderful diversity that exists within our community. We are committed to using all of our platforms to provide visibility and inclusion for all of the many intersections of the Black community.”
Three days before the show, Lil Nas X released his new music music video for “Late to da Party,” his single with NBA YoungBoy, and took aim at the BET Awards, urinating on a trophy tossed into a toilet and saying, “f— BET.”
At the end of the video, Lil Nas X is seen “crashing” a car into the BET Awards while throwing bills onto the audience.
The BET Awards, which honor musicians, actors and athletes, are airing live from Los Angeles at 8 p.m. EST on Sunday.
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