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So today after recieving news that a whooping record breaking 11 million viewers checked in to watch the BET Awards this past Sunday night in anticipation of seeing a Tribute to Michael Jackson just 2 or 3 days after his death, BET has finally responded to all the criticism. It responded by giving an exclusive statement to All Hip Hop where they denounce the performance of Lil Wayne and Drake. An exclusive statement to AHH? Wow.. there was no press release issued by Debra Lee or Stephen Hill.. There was no notification on their website BET.com as of 7:45 am PST… All I can do is shake my head.. Of course they do this on the day of our three day holiday when everyone is out and about..
In the meanwhile Drake has issued an apology of sorts. He says he regrets what happened and that the timing was poor. Thank you Drake for taking some sort of responsibility. You can read the BET apology below.. Shout out to the fam over at All Hip Hop.. Please do us a favor.. can you ask BET to exclusively apologize to all of us via their network? Also can y’all please ask them who made the call to put Drake and Lil Wayne on to do the song. Drake notes in his apology that they were being pressured to do the song. pressured by who? The Label? BET? Friends and family?
-Davey D-
Exclusive: BET Denounces Lil Wayne Performance, Drake Apologizes
BET CEO Debra Lee- Not sure if it was Ms Lee, but BET denounces Lil Wayne and Drake's performance at the BET Awards
BET has expressed remorse over a performance by Lil Wayne, Drake and Young Money Records that involved underage girls during songs “Best I Ever Had” and “Every Girl.”
The songs, which have overt sexual references, were performed during the Sunday BET Awards ’09 show as a bevy of young girls danced on stage. The group of girls consisted of Lil Wayne’s daughters and her friends.
In an exclusive statement, BET has responded to the criticism and the public outcry over the segment.
“BET Networks deeply regrets the performance by Young Money at the BET AWARDS ’09 (featuring Lil Wayne, Drake, Gudda Gudda and Mack Maine),” a BET representative told AllHipHop.com exclusively. “Elements of the performance were unplanned and should not have happened.”
In the aftermath of the show, many have expressed outrage over the outing by Young Money, which was set amid a show dedicated to the late Michael Jackson.
Activist and filmmaker Byron Hurt lambasted the network earlier in the week in an open letter to Debra Lee, the President and Chief Executive Officer of BET Holdings, Inc.
“In a culture where one out of four girls and women are either raped or sexually assaulted – and where manipulative men routinely traffic vulnerable women into the sex industry – it is not okay that BET allowed this to happen,” Hurt said. “BET owes its entire audience – particularly girls and women around the world – an apology for its failure to intervene.”
A representative said generally the company has found such opinions useful.
“We value and appreciate the feedback from our viewers and have edited Young Money’s performance for all BET Awards ’09 encore presentations.”
Drake has apologized and taken responsibility for the performance, admitting it was in poor taste.
Drake says he regrets what happened at the BET Awards. He says it was poor timing
“That…was a terrible idea that I’ll never do to myself again. But I was being pressed from different areas to perform, and I think what really happened at the BET Awards is with the passing of Mike, the climate really changed, as far as the award show goes,” he told Complex. “I don’t think it called for us to perform “Every Girl” and “Always Strapped,” and I think it was an award show filled with tributes and music and these genuine heartfelt speeches. And to sort of climax out of a very tongue-n-cheek point, and then people misconstruing Wayne’s daughters and her friends coming out on stage — it was just timed very poorly and it definitely wasn’t planned like that, but with that being said, it is what is. I believe in Wayne and myself and it’s nothing we can’t bounce back from. To anyone who was offended, my personal apologies, it wasn’t intended to offend anybody.”
An edited version of the show will re-air on Monday July 6. The BET Awards saw a 61-percent increase in viewers this year fueled by the sudden death of Michael Jackson. Ten percent of all turned on television sets watched the show Sunday, a remarkably high number