Lil Nas X went after BET last week with a social media post criticizing the channel’s BET Awards nominations, a list he was left off of. The rapper later deleted the posts. But today he made up for lost time — and then some — with a string of videos criticizing the network and its annual awards show.
In a clip posted to social media today, Lil Nas is seen lip-syncing to a catchy unreleased snippet from a song called “Late To The Party,” which opens with him repeating the phrase “F*** BET.” He then references his Top-10 charting singles last year: “I put like three up in the Top Ten/And I don’t need nobody.” The clip already has close to a million views on Twitter alone.
https://twitter.com/LilNasX/status/1534276413863256064?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1534276413863256064%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fdeadline.com%2F2022%2F06%2Flil-nas-x-bet-awards-diss-track-1235040469%2F
Lil Nas also shared a second clip revealing a guest verse from YoungBoy Never Broke Again.
The singer’s deleted tweets from last week read in part, “thank you bet awards. an outstanding zero nominations again,” with a sarcastic “black excellence!” thrown in for good measure.
Lil Nas was nominated in 2020 for Best New Artist, but he got 0 nominations for either 2021 or 2022. He made the point online that his ire is not so much about the accolades — he already has two Grammys for his 2020 smash “Old Town Road” — as it is about being seen.
“Black gay people have to fight to be seen in this world,” he later posted. “Even when we make it to the top, mfs try to pretend we are invisible.”
Today, he furthered the argument in response to a commenter who pointed out he already had two Grammys and acknowledgment from the industry at large.
“this is my point exactly,” the rapper responded. “how can i get acknowledged by the most acclaimed award show in the world and then not even just 1 nomination from my own people? is that not crazy? am i really tripping”
this is my point exactly how can i get acknowledged by the most acclaimed award show in the world and then not even just 1 nomination from my own people? is that not crazy? am i really tripping https://t.co/aE5cCRVsFm
— ☆ ‧‧̩̥·‧•̥̩̥͙‧·‧̩̥˟͙冬˟͙‧̩̥l (@LilNasX) June 7, 2022
A BET spokesperson issued the following statement to Deadline tonight:
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.
The BET Awards takes place Sunday, June 26 at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. BET will air the Taraji P. Henson-hosted ceremony live at 8 p.m. ET and delayed at 8 p.m. in the West.
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