Byron Hurt Writes A Letter To BET!

By The Urban Daily July 1, 2009 4:45 pm

Dear Debra Lee,

Sunday night’s BET Awards show was a disgrace. It’s sad and unfortunate that your network, owned by Viacom, continues to crank out mediocrity and perpetuate negative stereotypes of black men, women, and children. Although you likely received high ratings for the awards show, there is no honor in reinforcing the status quo’s opinion of black people. Your tribute to Michael Jackson and the overall show had its great moments, however, BET failed to deliver a solid, quality show. Rather than “raising the bar” and presenting African-Americans as a creative, proud, dignified people, BET lowered the bar for the entire world to see. The BET Awards drew a huge audience to watch a tribute to Michael Jackson, but left millions of viewers feeling disappointed, embarrassed, and reduced to classic stereotypes.

Check out the video of Young Money performing at the BET Awards:

During the most blatantly sexist performances of the night, the executives at BET failed to act and display intelligence, courage, and leadership. Show executives watched, approved, and applauded as artists Lil’ Wayne, Drake, and Cash Money brought young, under-aged girls onto the stage to dance and serve as window dressing while they performed “Every Girl,” a song that reduces girls and women to sex objects. In a culture where one out of four girls and women are either raped or sexually assaulted – and where manipulative men routinely traffic vulnerable women into the sex industry – it is not okay that BET allowed this to happen. BET owes its entire audience – particularly girls and women around the world – an apology for its failure to intervene. BET should also take immediate steps to ensure that this kind of sexist performance does not happen again. Sunday night’s show epitomizes why so many black people worldwide are fed up with BET and feel strongly that your network inaccurately represents black men and women.

Please take my letter and criticism as one that represents millions.

Sincerely,

Byron Hurt

What do YOU think? Was BET in the wrong? Share your thoughts in the comments section!

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Comments (54)

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  • 7-12-2009 4:11 am

    Ok I feel the fact BET did do a bad job on the tribute to Micheal Jackson and a bad thing to not catch the young girls on stage with lil wayne and company. One thing I will not put up with is the fact many of you fail to see that we don’t have that many networks that show black shows. TBS shows Tyler Perry’s shows, The CW Tyra and american’s next top model, and is it ABC or NBC show Oprah. To Kudomudo sweetie the BET awards is only nine years old cause in the 80’s and 90’s we didn’t a have a awards show just for us and i know that and i’m 25 years old. I do feel that Jamie Foxx was the wrong choice to host the award show this year but he was already set to host the show before MJ died so it was nothin that BET couold do to get someome else to host in three days. Many forgot that the show was changed around in three days to have a tribute to Micheal and i really feel it could have waited till later on in the week to have one but they as a network felt it would be better to give him one then. Lil wayne may have not changed his performs to suit the changes and made a choice at that could hurt him in more ways then one by having his daughter and her friends on stage for a song where he’s talkin bout wishing he could have sex with every girl in the world. My thing is everyone wants to say something bout lil wayne and drake performs this year butno one even said anythin bout jamie foxx performing Blame It last year no one said anything bout ciara’s perform nor lil wayne’s when he did Lilpop. So since everyone wants to jump down the back of a network that shows black shows, has a awards show that’s is for us about something that they clearly missed this year then ya’ll really have nothing better to do with your time. I’m sorry that show don’t make us who we are we make us. Stop playing this we have a black president in office s**t that we need to better our selfs as a black race. I hate to be the one to say this but it shouldn’t matter if we have a black president or a white president on us setting a exmple for the the youth of our race. That’s something that starts in the house and letting them know that the can do anything and everything that any other race feel they can do. For the young women and little girls we have to let them know that they are pretty smart and feel important to keep them from these men that feed on the weakness of them when they are looking for that something that they are not getting from home. So really take time out to think before you start making comments about how you’re not watching BET and they let us as a race down with that poor tirbute to Micheal Jackson cause i hate to say did the best they could having three days really not even that to change a whole show. So really think about what you say and what they had to go through just to get what they got together. Now if anything should be said is about the fact cover girl, beyonce, and jay-z not wanting chirs brown to perform a tirbute to Micheal Jackson at the BET awards. Yeah I said it the young man said he waas wrong for putting his hands on a woman so why not let him perform for a man that made him want to sing and dance?

  • 7-6-2009 10:38 pm

    I TOTALLY AGREE W/ BYRON HURT. BET NEEDS TO STEP IT UP. THAT SHOW WAS VERY EMBARASSING AND A DISGRACE

  • 7-6-2009 4:13 pm

    Yes,i watched it with my girlfreind we both said what a shame!!!!!!!!!!! real real sad!!!! on bet part mrs.Lee should have never let little wayne and his little so called crew come on the show at all!!!!!! and i did not like the way jamie fox hosted it he was making jokes about mj in is little sneaky kinda of way when he was talkig then at the end at the sit down after the show you can tell he was drunk looking at alicia keys ass when she walked by them also TI little girlfreind looked like a dam hooker!!!!!!!!!!! and can tell she was high also when she came to get the award for him it was real sad!!!!!! mj and the whole jackson family was a powerful singers and family Bet should say they are so so sorry for having for having a show in memory of him like that mrs.Lee take charge and say you sorry to us as a black family because we are in this struggle together as obama our leader in charge!!! and to the jackson family for putting that garbage !!!!!!!!show together you need to have a press conference to the world!!!!!!! because everybody around world saw the show that night may mj rest in peace!!!!!!!!! and dont ever allow that again!!!! mrs.Lee when you do a trubite to when another family member passes in our family GOD BLESS YOU

  • 7-5-2009 3:48 pm

    What a insult to Michael’s memory. Michael crossed boundaries, not by using curse words, but by his lyrics. These go call black entertains need to wake up look at how they disgrace Michael’s memory. Now I know why I don’t watch Bet, but others I wanted to see the tribute to Michael. I looked at the O’Jay’s now that is how you dress & present a great entertainer. Jay Z & Wayne just to name a few should be embarass to show their faces. They are a disgrace to all that we are trying to achieve.

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