A new report claims the ratings for Sunday’s BET Awards collapsed 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’s less than half the show’s 2018 audience of 4.5 million total viewers. It’s also down significantly from 2009, when the awardscast honored Michael Jackson days after his death and scored its highest audience ever, with more than 10 million viewers.
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Minaj noticed the ratings report and shared it 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.”
When u go out of ur way to b spiteful & hurt artists who have always supported ur show… 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 https://t.co/DOYKmgAlyr
— Nicki Minaj (@NICKIMINAJ) June 27, 2019
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 said. BET quickly deleted the tweet, but the damage was done.
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In response, Minaj and Young Money 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.
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.
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