The 2021 BET Awards took place over the weekend, filled with various memorable moments throughout the night. Method Man, Griselda, Swizz Beatz and more linked up for a massive DMX tribute performance, while Cardi B revealed her 2nd pregnancy during her performance with Migos.
Elsewhere during the show, Megan thee Stallion hit the stage to perform her latest single “Thot Sh*t,” while the City Girls popped out to perform their viral hit “Twerkulator.” No performance, however, was as polarizing as Lil Nas X’s rendition of his song “Montero (Call Me By Your Name).” Following the performance, Bad Boy head honcho Diddy took to social media to praise Lil Nas for his confidence.
Paras Griffin/Getty Images for BET
Lil Nas paid tribute to Michael Jackson’s “Remember the Time” with his crushing performance of his latest hit single. The performance ended with the artist giving a passionate kiss to one of his male backup dancers. While some Twitter users were not feeling the performance, Diddy took to social media to applaud Nas for his fearlessness.
“Lil Nas X did that!! Be fearless!!!,” penned Puff with three hand-clapping emojis to hone in the message. The “Old Town Road” hitmaker himself took to Twitter to address some of his critics, namely to one person who penned, “DONT USE AFRICAN CULTURE FOR S***S LIKE THIS!!!!!!! RESPECT OUR ANCESTORS.”
In response, he defended his decision while giving a small history lesson, writing, “y’all really like to pretend homosexuality didn’t exist in african culture.”
Despite the criticism, performing at the ceremony was a pretty huge deal, period.