Usher shared his sentiments following his BET Awards tribute.
During the 2024 BET Awards, Usher was honored with the Lifetime Achievement award. For his tribute Childish Gambino, Keke Palmer, Summer Walker, Coco Jones, Marsha Ambrosius, Chlöe, Tinashe, Teyana Taylor, Victoria Monét, and Latto paid homage to the singer. Fans had mixed reactions as some believe more male R&B singers could’ve honored him.
Usher- however, was simply grateful. “Reflecting on the incredible evening and mannn let me just say how grateful I am to @bet @betawards for the lifetime achievement award [prayer hands emoji],” he posted via his Instagram Story. “But I want to take a moment and give a very, very special thank U to these tremendously talented entertainers that graced the stage during my tribute. y’all did the DAMN thing!!! It was so amazing to witness each of your talents through the eyes of my own journey… thank U [heart emoji].”
“My tribute was amazing mannn…” Usher also added via Twitter. “thank U to each and every one involved in the making of this moment [prayer hands emoji].”
Following the performance, Usher took to the stage to accept his Lifetime Achievement award. During his acceptance speech- Usher’s sound went out, in which BET has since apologized for. “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,” a spokesperson relayed. “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.”
“We’ve got to be willing to forgive,” Usher said during the acceptance speech. “We’ve got to be willing to be open. 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. But that’s what’s real. That’s what makes us human. That’s what makes us women and men.”