BET apologises to Usher for audio glitch during Lifetime Achievement speech

BET Awards 2024 apologised to Usher following an audio malfunction that muted his Lifetime Achievement Award acceptance speech for a few minutes.

According to People magazine, the network cited technical difficulties as the reason behind the Yeah! Hitmaker’s speech-cutting for viewers.

"Due to an audio malfunction during the LIVE telecast, portions of his speech were inadvertently muted," they described.

"Celebrating global icon USHER on our stage with a star-studded tribute and having him accept his award with a heartfelt speech was an honour…" a BET spokesperson continued.

"We extend our sincere apologies to USHER as we couldn’t be more grateful for his participation in Culture’s Biggest Night," he added.

The network further stated that the R&B icon’s full acceptance speech is now available on the network’s platforms.

For the unversed, on Sunday, June 30, after Usher, 45, began his BET 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award acceptance speech following a star-studded women-led tribute, viewers watching the live telecast began to experience some audio issues.

Initially, some parts of the speech were inaudible due to language. However, reportedly, for about four minutes, the speech was completely muted until the music legend voiced his thoughts on the importance of present fathers while reflecting on his personal life experience of growing up without one.