The 24-year-old Jack Harlow, who worked with Lil Nas X on “Industry Baby,” showed up to the 2022 BET Awards wearing a provocative shirt.
Jack wore black slacks, patent leather shoes, and a Lil Nas X T-shirt for the occasion. He is up for Best Male Hip Hop Artist along with Drake, Future, J. Cole, Kanye West, Kendrick Lamar, and Lil Baby.
The 23-year-old rapper of “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” recently vented his anger about not being nominated for a 2022 BET Award in his latest music video and in a number of tweets that have since been deleted.
On June 24, Lil Nas X released the music video for his song “Late to da Party,” in which the artist was seen urinating on a BET Award that had been tossed into a toilet, smashing his automobile into the BET Awards event, and screaming the line “F—k BET.”
After not being nominated for this year’s awards show, the 23-year-old shared how he felt on Twitter before posting the video.
According to People, he stated in a since-deleted tweet, “This is not over no BET award.” “Y’all can sit and fake all you want, but I’m going to risk it all for us,” the speaker said, in reference to the larger issue of homophobia in the black community.
Lil Nas X responded, “Idk, maybe 3 of the biggest hits of last year & a highly acclaimed album…” I feel like that should’ve helped me a bit, “after a fan reportedly questioned why he thought he deserved a nomination after the tweet was published.”
In a later deleted comment, Lil Nas X said, “I just feel like black gay people have to fight to be seen in this society and even when we get it to the top [they] try to pretend we are invisible,” in a later deleted comment, saying that it doesn’t “even have to be” him nominated that night.
BET replied to the artist’s social media protest with a statement that was posted on their website.
The statement began, “We love Lil Nas X.” We were proud to show off his amazing talent and creativity twice on the show. In 2020, he was nominated for a BET Award for Best New Artist.
Before pointing out that Lil Nas X wasn’t nominated, BET said that he would perform at the 2019 and 2021 BET Awards.
“Unfortunately, this year, he was not nominated by BET’s Voting Academy,” the statement said. The Voting Academy is comprised of an esteemed group of nearly 500 entertainment professionals in the fields of music, television, film, digital marketing, sports journalism, public relations, influencers, and creative arts. “No BET employee participates in the Voting Academy.”
While Jack’s clothing tonight may be a silent protest, he has previously spoken out in favor of Lil Nas X on red carpets. As he spoke with ELaverne!’s Cox at the 2022 Grammy Awards, Jack gave his advice to those who have a problem with LGBTQ+ people in the hip hop music industry.
Jack yelled, “Wake the f—k up.” “What the f——are you thinking?” It is absurd. “
When asked about his co-star in the music video, Jack had nothing but positive things to say about Lil Nas X’s career when asked about it.
“He’s paving a route that is so unfortunate that it needs to be blazed.” But I find it to be incredible. He’s bringing new, potent, and vital innovation to the game.
