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Lil Nas X says 'f*** BET' in song after BET Awards snub: here's everything you need to know

Lil Nas X says the song is to call out 'the bigger problem of homophobia in the Black community.'
by Christine Estima
June 8, 2022 3:23 p.m. EST
Getty Images Getty Images

Despite being a Grammy-winning musical artist, Lil Nas X is not happy that the BET Awards have snubbed him from the nominations this year. 2021 was a huge year for the “Old Town Road” rapper, with his recent singles “Montero (Call Me By Your Name),” “Industry Baby,” and “That’s What I Want” seeing wild success. So why the lack of nominations? That’s a question on LNX’s mind, and he’s taking his beef to the next level.

Last week, as the BET noms were announced, LNX (given name Montero Lamar Hill) took to Twitter to vent in some now-deleted tweets, and this week, he’s doubling down, dropping a diss track aimed squarely at the BET voting academy.

In a tweet saying "f*** BET," LNX posted a video of himself singing along to a new track titled "Late to the Party" (he shared the name in a retweet). In another tweet, he says that YoungBoy Never Broke Again will be featured on a verse. 

Some of the harsh lyrics in the song include, “F*** BET, f***  BET/ F*** BET, f***BET/ Lick it on up, slurp it/ Make it sloppy, ok, ok, ok, ok/ Look at how I top sh**/ I just put like three up in the top 10/ And I don’t need nobody/ I just need these ccs on my body/ Everything I do be tryna run, go make a profit/ Read about it.”

"This is about the bigger problem of homophobia in the Black community"

LNX says all of this is due to queerphobia in the BET voting academy, something that he says people in the Black community try to pretend isn’t happening.

“this not over no bet award,” he tweeted. “this is about the bigger problem of homophobia in the black community, y’all can sit and pretend all u want but imma risk it all for us.”

When a fan pointed out to him that his Grammy award is probably more prestigious in the music industry than a BET award, LNX clapped back, claiming that the point of his frustration is that his own community is snubbing him when the world at large adores him.

“This is my point exactly,” he tweeted. “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.”

When another fan tweeted that he should have released his song “Scoop” featuring Doja Cat (who herself was nominated by BET this year) as a single rather than “Industry Baby,” LNX was having none of it.

“industry baby is the 2nd longest running #1 song on the billboard rap charts of all time and didn’t get a single nomination,” he said, in part. 

Lil Nas X's original snub tweets

Last week, when the BET noms were announced, LNX posted a series of now-deleted tweets decrying his apparent snub, while his “Montero” album was nominated for five Grammy Awards this year.

“Thank you BET awards. an outstanding zero nominations again,” he wrote, per Variety, adding “black excellence!” 

He went on to say, “I just feel like black gay ppl have to fight to be seen in this world and even when we make it to the top mfs try to pretend we are invisible.”

BET's response

BET has now responded by releasing a statement Tuesday night to Deadline and also by posting a series of photos and videos to their official Instagram honouring the rapper and singer.

“We love Lil Nas X,” a BET spokesperson said in a statement. “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.”

The statement continued, “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.”

LNX’s last nomination from BET was in 2020 for the Best New Artist award, but he has not been nominated since then. The BET Awards are set to air on Sunday, June 26. 

 

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