The 2024 BET Awards brought dozens of artists to the stage for a night filled with flawless performances and memorable moments. However, things hit a snag when it came to Usher’s acceptance speech as he was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award and the broadcast audio cut out for the majority of his statement.
On Monday, BET released a statement to ET addressing the audio issues and apologizing to Usher for the mishap.
“Celebrating global icon Usher on our stage with a star-studded tribute and having him accept his award with a heartfelt speech was an honor,” the network stated. “Due to an audio malfunction during the LIVE telecast, portions of his speech were inadvertently muted.”
“We extend our sincere apologies to Usher as we couldn’t be more grateful for his participation in Culture’s Biggest Night. Fans can catch his full uninterrupted speech across BET platforms and tonight’s encore on BET,” the statement concluded.
Toward the end of the nearly four-hour-long awards ceremony, Usher, 45, was honored with the prestigious award, which was introduced by both a video tribute and a 16-minute star-studded performance featuring a slew of A-listers belting out some of his most iconic hits.
The musical medley including performances from Childish Gambino, Keke Palmer, Summer Walker, Coco Jones, Marsha Ambrosius, Chloe Bailey, Tinashe, Victoria Monét, Teyana Taylor and Latto, among others.
All that went off without a hitch until it came time for Usher to accept his award — which was presented to him by Babyface and L.A. Reid. After getting censored for swearing a few times in the first few minutes of his speech, all broadcast audio — not Usher’s mic, but all audio — cut out entirely for several minutes, only intermittently switching back on for a few moments before going out again.
This meant that a majority of his speech went unheard by viewers and was only appreciated by those in attendance. However, the portions of his speech that were broadcast were moving, inspirational, and a call for forgiveness and acceptance.
The singer looked back at his early years and his search for his identity after his father left the family and Usher grew up not knowing him.
“I was trying to make sense of this name that a man gave me but didn’t stick around because he didn’t love me,” Usher emotionally reflected. “Or at least that was my perception of it because I had to live long enough in order to understand that you have to have a forgiving heart in order to understand the true pitfalls and hardships of a Black man in America.”
“My father was a product of that. He made a lot of decisions. He made a lot of choices, and one that probably hurt and helped me at the same time was to stay away,” Usher continued. “That’s part of the reason why I say this is the year of the father, where all the fathers have got to stand up for their sons and daughters and be the man that they need to be for them.”
“You’ve got to be willing to forgive, y’all. He who knows no sin cast the first stone. You’ve got to be willing to forgive. Got to be willing to be open,” he shared. “I’m telling you, you’re standing before a man who had to forgive a man who never showed up ever. And look what I made with it! Look what I was able to usher in. That’s what’s real. That’s what makes us human. That’s what makes us men and women. I thank you all.”
Before his Lifetime Achievement Award honor, Usher also took the stage to accept the award for Best Male R&B/Pop Artist.
On the blue carpet ahead of Sunday’s award show, Usher opened up to ET about bringing his family to witness the special night by his side. Along with his mother, Jonnetta Patton, and his wife, Jennifer Goicoechea — whom Usher wed in February — the musician came to the show with his sons, Naviyd Raymond, 15, and Usher “Cinco” Raymond V, 16. Usher shares his teenage sons with ex-wife Tameka Foster. Usher and and his wife also share 3-year-old daughter Sovereign and 2-year-old son Sire.
“To be able to share this moment with my family feels amazing. We work hard [and] they’ve made the sacrifices of allowing me to do what I love and supporting me,” Usher shared. “We’re celebrating the past 16 years of their lives [and] the past 40 something of my life and my mother and everything that she put into this moment that I’m gonna have tonight. [I’m] really happy to be able to celebrate all of the people who had something to do with this moment.”
When looking to the future, Usher told ET that he’s more focused on building his “kingdom” than collecting accolades.
“So many people focus on being the number one, being the queen or being the king. I just want to build a kingdom and continue to put down incredible things and make amazing offerings to the world whether that’s music or the culture of things that I think are relevant for the world,” Usher declared. “I’m gonna tour and after that, we’ll see what happens.”
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