Jack Harlow arrived at the red carpet of the BET (Black Entertainment Televison) Awards dressed in all black. His T-shirt at the ceremony was a statement. Harlow had chosen a Lil Nas X graphic T-shirt, silently supporting the American rapper who had been very vocal about his exclusion from this year’s BET awards.
Lil Nas X reacted to the gesture on Twitter saying “Wow I really love this man,” along with a picture of Harlow on the red carpet.
Over the last few weeks Lil Nas has been showing his discontent towards the BET Awards, where he was nominated him this year. He had also tweeted recently that he would not be attending the ceremony due to "the bigger problem of homophobia in the Black community."
Nas released his latest single 'Late to Da Party' on June 24 which includes a 'F*** BET' chorus line. The album cover allegedly shows him urinating on a BET Award. The award network stated that the network had no role in this decision as it was based on the votes by the fans.
BET Awards is an American show that celebrates excellent works of African Americans in entertainment. It was started in 2001 by the Black Entertainment Television. According to reports, Harlow has been receiving criticism for being a white rapper nominated for BET awards which can also be a reason for his attire. Harlow's images from the red carpet which were serviced by his label. It noted his Givenchy pants but not the T-shirt.
Nas and members of his team told media sources that before the singer's last year’s BET performance - the network "was hesitant when booking Nas, asking for his team's confirmation that he wasn't a satanist or devil worshiper." Nas had made headlines during the concert by kissing one of his male backup dancers which reportedly made the network producers upset.
"My relationship with BET has been painful and strained for quite some time. It didn't start with this year's nominations like most people might think," Nas told media sources in a statement.
Responding to the claims by Lil Nas, a BET spokesperson said that the "summation of events around Lil Nas X's 2021 BET Awards performance is simply untrue."
"Since last year's performance, we have been in touch to work on other projects. We are still excited about his previous performances and continue to wish him well. But today, we are focused on culture's biggest night and delivering history-making moments for fans worldwide," the source said.