The 2021 BET Hip Hop Awards found several artists and social media influencers colliding in one space, so it made for plenty of interesting moments. The ceremony, which aired last night (October 5) but was filmed last week, has been talked about by fans who saw their favorite old school and new school artists take to the stage. Nelly was bestowed the I Am Hip Hop award and performed a medley of his chart-topping hits, and everything seemed to come together without a hitch.
Attendees have been sharing videos and images from the backstage shenanigans, and an encounter with Jayda Cheaves and LL Cool J became a trending topic.
We previously reported on the awkward clip that went viral, leaving the public to question whether or not Jayda was shading the Rap icon. After learning of the accusations, Jayda posted a video explaining the interaction and denying that she would ever disrespect Cool James.
“I really do not want you guys to think that I was being disrespectful,” she said. “‘Cause if you know me, everybody know I’m cool as f*ck to everybody I meet. I’m super friendly, super bubbly, but let me tell y’all how this went. So, I was backstage actually practicing for the announcement on BET, so we were in the room with the prompter or whatever and one of my PR friends reached out and was like, ‘LL Cool J’s out there, go take a picture.'”
Paras Griffin/2021 BET Hip Hop Awards / Contributor / Getty Images
Jayda said although she was in the middle of running through her lines but did not want to pass up the chance to meet the music legend. “I was already just nervous, so when I met him, *laughs* I love him but I instantly froze up! So when someone tapped me after I took the picture with him, I’m thinking it was the PR telling me to do something else, but it was freaking LL Cool J.”
“So sorry, no disrespect. I’ve been a fan of LL Cool J.” She also expressed that she wanted to meet him again in the future. Watch her video below.