A new report claims the ratings for Sunday’s BET Awards plummeted compared to years past, and Nicki Minaj says there’s a reason — the cable network is “messy.”
According to unconfirmed ratings data posted by Music News Facts, the 2019 BET Awards drew 2 million viewers. That was less than half of the show’s 2018 audience of 4.5 million total viewers. It’s also down significantly from 2009, when BET honored Michael Jackson days after his death and scored its highest audience ever, with more than 10 million viewers.
Related Story: BET Awards 2019 – Mary J. Blige Performs Her Own Tribute
Minaj took note of the ratings report and shared it on social media, along with some choice words for BET.
“When u go out of ur way to b spiteful & hurt artists who have always supported ur show,” she tweeted on Thursday, June 27. “When you fire great ppl who have put their heart & soul into the show… when you’d rather be a messy reality show than a prestigious award show… when ur still being dragged by that lace.”
The rapper’s “that lace” comment was in reference to an insulting tweet posted on the official BET Twitter account in February, after Cardi B won best rap album at the 2019 Grammy Awards.
“Meanwhile, Nicki Minaj is being dragged by her lacefront,” the controversial tweet read. BET quickly deleted the tweet, but the damage was done.
In response, Minaj and the Young Money label dropped out of this year’s BET Experience.
“Young Money will no longer be apart of the BET Experience or award show,” Minaj tweeted at the time.
BET later apologized for the offensive tweet.
“BET loves Nicki Minaj. We have supported her from the very beginning of her career and will continue to do so moving forward,” the Viacom-owned channel said in a statement Monday. “Nicki has paved the way for so many performers and has solidified her place as one of the most powerful figures in the music industry.”
The network said a rogue employee was to blame and the situation would be addressed.
“Unfortunately, the respect we have for Nicki was violated by this post that should never have been written. The post does not reflect how we feel about Nicki. And further does not reflect our company values. We deeply apologize for the hurt, disappointment and confusion that this post has caused,” the statement said.
Following today’s ratings brouhaha, BET sent Billboard a press release saying 12.7 million total viewers watched the 2019 awardsfest across eight Viacom networks, including MTV and VH1.
Discover more from Urban Hollywood 411
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
