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Following a now-deleted tirade on Twitter last week, Lil Nas X continues to take a stand against homophobia within the black community after failing to receive nominations at this year’s BET Awards, which specifically celebrate black excellence in the entertainment industry.
On Tuesday is the “Montero” rapper and uncompromisingly queer artist called the network publiclywhich stands for Black Entertainment Television, in an unreleased diss track entitled “Late To The Party”.
“F**k BET! F**k BET! F**k BET!” Lil Nas lip-synched while repeatedly stretching his middle fingers in a minute-long clip. The video, which garnered nearly two million views on Twitter, further fueled his attack on the network and his alleged prejudice against queer color artists.
RELATED: Lil Nas X’s ‘Old Town Road’ star power and country’s queer visibility
The Lil Nas social media tirade began last week when the artist addressed BET in a deleted post, saying, “Thanks betting prizes. Another outstanding zero nomination,” alongside the brief comment, “Black excellence!” Per Deadline, he expressed similar sentiments in a subsequent post, which read, “Black gays must fight to be seen in this world. Even if we make it to the top, mfs try to pretend we’re invisible.”
So far, Lil Nas has only received one BET nomination, back in 2020 for Best New Artist. He has not received a nomination since then.
Many fans and followers have questioned the rapper’s recent behavior, noting that he has won more prestigious awards in the past, including two Grammys for his 2020 hit “Old Town Road,” reiterated in a series of quote tweets Nas that he is not concerned with the awards, but rather with increasing the queer, marginalized representation and visibility within the music scene.
“[T]It’s not over yet, no BET price” he wrote in a separate tweet posted on Tuesday. “[T]This is about the bigger issue of homophobia in the black community, you can all sit and pretend you want to, but I’m risking it all for us.”
In another tweetLil Nas wrote in response to his BET nudges: “That’s exactly my point, how can I be recognized by the most prestigious awards show in the world and then not even just have a nomination from my own people? Is not that crazy? I really stumble”
Lil Nas also pointed out that fellow rapper Jack Harlow, who collaborated with him on their hit single “Industry Baby,” recently received a BET nomination for Best Male Hip-Hop Artist. To be clear, Harlow, who only appears on the track, is also a white artist.
“Funnily enough, ‘Industry Baby’ was the biggest song that me and Jack released in the selection period last year, but only one of us got nominated.” explained Lil Nas.
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On Wednesday, BET responded to Lil Nas’ allegations in a statement to Deadline:
We love Lil Nas X. He was nominated for a 2020 BET Award for Best New Artist, and we’ve proudly showcased his extraordinary talent and creativity on the show twice: He performed “Old Town Road” with Billy Ray Cyrus on the “BET Awards” 2019 and his appearance at the “BET Awards” 2021 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 consists of a respected group of nearly 500 entertainment professionals across music, television, film, digital marketing, sports journalism, public relations, influencers and the creative arts. No one from BET is a member of the Voting Academy.
At BET, we’re passionate advocates of 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.
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