Surprise!!
Nobody expected him to do it, but Kanye West popped up on the stage Sunday night at the BET Awards and delivered a 5-minute-long speech (!) late in the show honoring Lifetime Achievement Award winner Sean “Diddy” Combs!
While Ye gushed over the rapper throughout, there were also several references peppered into the remarks where the 45-year-old rapper acknowledged his tumultuous recent life and family history. And yes, that means indirectly calling out ex-wife Kim Kardashian, too!
Related: Kim Does This DISGUSTING Activity For ‘Bonding’ With BF Pete Davidson!
The Chicago-born artist took to the stage about three hours into the show Sunday in El Lay, donning a gray leather jacket, a dark gray hat, and a black stocking mask covering his entire face along with sunglasses to top it off! That relative anonymity was in direct contradiction to his words, as the Hurricane rapper got vulnerable about the impact Diddy’s career has had on his own!
Things got really interesting when Ye turned from praising Diddy’s musical talents to crediting the 52-year-old mogul’s business sense. As the crowd hollered and cheered him on, the Jesus Walks performer delivered this line about Diddy’s expertise in contracts and “life choices” (below):
“[Diddy] Understood contracts in a way a lot of us still don’t. Understood money in a way a lot of us still don’t. I go to him for advice to this day. He inspired so many of my choices. So many of my life choices. My wife choices. And here we are. Thanks for that, Puff.”
“Wife choices”!? Hmmmm, who could that be referencing??
Later on in his declaration, Ye added commentary about his recent step back from the public eye.
As Perezcious readers will recall, the father of four took “a little hiatus,” as he referenced, following weeks of social media attacks on Kim’s new boyfriend Pete Davidson. Ye even walked away from a headliner slot at Coachella while trying to re-center himself away from all the tension (that he created).
Noting that recent experience, the fashion designer linked it to Diddy’s longstanding support of other artists:
“You know, I took a little hiatus. I said ‘I wanted to declare myself legally dead for a year.’ Nobody missing me. You know, I just want to be off the grid. Puff is pretty persistent. But I had to think. It’s like people, they get amnesia, like I should never have to call more than one time. Any of us in this room, if Puff ever need us, we need to jump and be there. This man has been through and survived a lot of stuff. Broke down a lot of doors so we could be standing. I know for me, so that I could be here today.”
And in a now-patented pattern of speech that only Ye can deliver, the remarks wrapped in a flourish! Referencing one of his favorite topics — Jesus — and explaining some of his own motivations for changing his name, the A-list star concluded:
“I was at the dentist and I was taking nitrous oxide. I wouldn’t suggest it if anybody is stressed out. And I thought I know how it is to want to change your name. You might know him as Diddy, Puff Daddy, Sean Combs. But when it’s hitting a certain point, I thought at the end of it, all is love. All of it. All we have is love. In Jesus’ name, bring out love.”
OK then!
You can watch the full speech (below):
Whew! Lots of energy there!
Reactions, Perezcious readers??
[Image via Will Alexander/Apega/WENN/Avalon]
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