Malaysia Barr
Black Entertainment Television Network (BET) was founded in 1980 with the sole purpose of having an outlet for black actors, musicians, and media hosts to have their voices heard on an outlet that represented African American culture. As the network grew and evolved, it began to incorporate award shows to highlight the best of black culture in a given year. Several award shows have been implemented, like The Soul Train Awards and BET Hip Hop Awards. But the one award show that stands out from all produced on BET Network is the BET Awards. Established in 2001, this award show is an annual summer event that highlights the achievements of African Americans throughout the year. The award show has grown and evolved, and this year it not only highlighted African American culture but also LGBTQIA+ culture.
The 2021 BET awards aired on June 27, 2021. The three-hour broadcast was hosted by actress Taraji P. Henson and narrated by rapper M.C Lyte. The show had performances from rappers like Megan Thee Stallion and singers like Jazmine Sullivan. However, the one element of the show that stood out was the subtle recognition and support of members of the LGBTQIA+ community. This was shown through moments with rappers Lil Nas X and Queen Latifah.
Lil Nas X is an up-and-coming rapper, known for his smash hit “Old Town Road” back in 2018. For BET to have him perform was a bold move, considering Lil Nas X’s recent blood in shoe and “Montero (Call Me By My Name)” music video controversy in March 2021. For BET to have him perform, shows a position of solidarity on his behalf. The song Lil Nas X Performed was “Montero (Call Me By My Name),” which, as stated earlier, was met with much controversy. During his performance, the rapper had male-only dancers who wore eyeshadow. This subtle makeup, for many, is breaking barriers as many men have traditionally felt that eye makeup was ‘unmanly’. As the performance neared its end, Lil Nas X and one of his male dancers kissed. In the broadcast, a closeup of transgender actress MJ Rodriguez (Pose) was shown clapping proudly. Lil Nas X’s performance was daring, reflecting the current state of LGBTQIA+ representation in today’s culture. In 2022, there are male cover men for popular makeup magazines, and television shows like Pose show many different same-sex relationships. While there have been same-sex relationships featured on television shows in previous decades, the difference is that today those relationships are featured with more storylines, complexity, and realness than before. BET is showing its solidarity with the present-day representation by celebrating an outwardly gay black male rapper performing on their stage.
Another moment where BET recognizes more members of the LGBTQIA+ community on the show is during Queen Latifah’s speech. Latifah is a rapper, actress, and singer that has been a prominent figure in African American culture since the 1990s. Latifah has evolved as a person as she has multiple decades of success as both an actress and rapper/singer. Recognizing her achievements, BET chose her as the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award. During her speech, she recognized many people and at the end, shouted out “Happy Pride!”.
While this is a small way of expressing love for the community that she is a part of, this marks an important evolution of how members of the LGBTQIA community are perceived. Queen Latifah’s sexuality has been in question for years, and she has never publicly confirmed her sexual orientation. However, this changed in her acceptance speech during the BET Awards. Her subtle recognition of her sexuality reflects the culture in which she grew up. Contrary to that of Lil Nas X, Queen Latifah did not have the powers of social media that allowed for different subgroups of people to be represented freely. Instead, she had to form herself into a straight, black woman. This is reflected through her television and sitcom roles where she has traditionally had male love interests. For example, on Living Single, her character “Khadijah” had an on-again-off-again boyfriend named Scooter; in The Last Holiday, her male love interest is a rapper turned actor LL Cool J. The only role in which Queen Latifah pushed boundaries with sexual identity was in the film Set It Off (1996), where she played “Cleo” who had a female love interest. As Latifah comes from an era where same-sex relationships were repressed, this is shown through her small yet bold recognition of her sexuality. This is why her speech at the BET Awards show is so important because she openly expresses something that she has kept quiet for years.
The 2021 BET Awards had several important moments representing members from the LGBTQIA+ community. While Lil Nas X and Queen Latifah had different approaches to demonstrating their sexuality, they were equally as important because it showed a once marginalized group taking center stage. These moments help show how the BET awards are adapting to encompass a broader, intersectional celebration of black culture.
