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Now, back to the video. There was a lot of controversy involving Taraji P. Henson and TikToker Keith Lee. At the BET Awards, Taraji was walking through the crowd giving people their flowers, but she didn’t acknowledge the popular food critic Keith Lee.
At a recent event, there was a mix-up involving TikTok star Keith Lee and another popular TikToker, Jordan Howlett. The woman talking to Jordan mistook him for Keith Lee. Jordan had to point out, “I’m not Keith Lee. He’s Keith Lee,” which left Keith and his wife looking confused. They laughed it off, but things got more awkward when the woman started flirting with Keith right in front of his wife, saying, “My bad. You fine too, so call me. Give him his flower.”
Keith wasn’t amused at all. After Taraji P. Henson gave him a rose, he threw it on the ground and later posted about it, saying, “Our name will be known in every room it’s supposed to be when it’s supposed to be and how it’s supposed to be with no confusion. God is amazing.” This moment was shared by the Neighborhood Talk.
Keith later deleted the post because people thought he was angry. He went on TikTok to clear things up. He said, “Last night was the BET Awards, and something’s been on my mind. First off, I want to say I am not upset at Taraji P. Henson in any way. She did an amazing job last night. I don’t think Taraji had any bad intentions. The situation happened, and it is what it is. In my video, I dropped the rose because I didn’t feel like it was my moment. I believe in only keeping what’s meant for me. That rose wasn’t mine, and I don’t want anything that isn’t meant for me.”
The production side of the event felt extremely rushed and lacked intention and purpose. Despite this, I am incredibly grateful for every opportunity to be part of such events. My wife and I looked and felt amazing as we enjoyed the show, which was a big deal for me given my social anxiety. Just being there and soaking in the moment was more than enough.
However, it felt unprofessional and unprepared when my wife and I were moved to different seats without any explanation. Taraji wasn’t informed about who we were or what we do, which added to the confusion. I’ve been a fan of Taraji for years and loved seeing her get the recognition she deserves. It was unfair that this situation detracted from both her moment and ours.
Moreover, a picture of my wife has been circulating that makes it look like she had an attitude with Taraji. We fully understood that Taraji’s flirting was improv and a joke. It was a challenging situation, but we knew she was making it up as she went. I was there to enjoy the show and appreciated the invitation. At no point was I upset that Taraji didn’t know who I was.
I believe that everything meant for me and my family will come to us at the right time without confusion. My statement last night was misconstrued, but I stand by it 100%. When the time is right, everything will happen as it’s supposed to. While I appreciate the opportunity, I understand that last night wasn’t my moment, and that’s okay with me.
“To everyone who’s been on this journey with me and is still here, I’m forever grateful. I appreciate y’all. I can’t say it enough. God bless you. Have an amazing day. Y’all be safe.”
That’s what Keith Lee had to say—a very classy and positive response, as usual. However, he subtly pointed out that BET rushed everything, implying that the issue was with BET and their production team, not Taraji P. Henson. They mixed up the seats, which threw Taraji off, but Keith made it clear he didn’t blame her at all.
In response, Taraji said, “Life is really too short for this behavior. He wasn’t in his seat. They give celebrities assigned seats. I rehearsed all day to hit my mark, and that young man wasn’t in his seat, so he missed his moment. His ego is hurt. He’ll be fine. I’ll clean it up at the end of the show. No love lost here.”
It’s unclear why Taraji reacted this way since Keith explicitly said he didn’t blame her and put the fault on the production team. It seems people are trying to test Keith Lee, and I hope he doesn’t let it get to him. Keith is a former MMA fighter, so he can handle himself. But now that he’s rebranded as a family man and food critic, he needs to maintain a certain image. Yet, people keep trying him.
There was even a moment when Keith Lee was walking outside with his team, and someone purposely mistook him for DDG.
“Oh my God, I knew that was you, bro! DDG, bro! D, bro! DDG, bro! DDG, bro!”
It was a joke by comedian Jayla Huston, but you could see that Keith Lee got a bit upset. People are really trying to get under his skin, and now that they see he can be sensitive, they’re going to start poking at him more. The tone towards him is changing. More people are starting not to like him, and some are exploiting his sensitivity just to get a reaction. They want Keith Lee to go viral for doing something crazy. I really hope he stays mindful of this and doesn’t get out of character.
Y’all, leave Keith alone. He just reviews food and spends time with his family, so give him a break.
Now, moving on to Taylor Swift’s power move and her demand for the Beyoncé treatment on TikTok. This is very interesting. On the podcast Back Pheel, they discussed Taylor Swift’s immense leverage and power in the industry. Allegedly, she demanded that her label, Universal Music Group, put their artists’ music back on TikTok after they threatened to remove it. She did this because she wanted to benefit from TikTok the way Beyoncé did.
“One of the most powerful people in music was there, and who cares if you like my song, yeah.”
When she told Universal Music Group, “Make sure you fix the relationship with TikTok.” Taylor Swift is probably one of the toughest in the music business right now, absolutely. People were surprised when Universal Music Group resolved things with TikTok, but we already knew. When she was in that meeting, she said, “You’ve got to fix this.” She wanted what Beyoncé got. If they didn’t fix the TikTok situation and give her the same treatment Beyoncé had during her rollout, she threatened not to release her album.
Here’s what they were saying: Taylor saw how TikTok helped Beyoncé’s album “Renaissance.” A lot of Beyoncé’s music went viral on TikTok, which meant she didn’t have to release many music videos because the songs were already doing so well. Beyoncé, still signed to Columbia Records, made a lot of money from her streams and her hugely successful tour. TikTok played a big part in boosting her music. Taylor noticed this and wanted a similar boost for her own work.
Now, TikTok isn’t necessarily a make-or-break factor for someone like Taylor since her music is already hugely popular. But Taylor is smart and knows how powerful TikTok can be. She was about to release her album “The Tortured PS Department,” and she wanted that extra push from TikTok. To make that happen, she needed her label to strike a deal with TikTok to smooth out her album’s release. So, it’s believable that she had a big role in getting Universal Music Group to partner with TikTok again. Taylor Swift is a powerful figure in the industry, and she has the clout to make things happen for herself and other artists.
It’s not hard to imagine her calling up the UMG headquarters and telling them to sort out their TikTok situation. While we can’t know for sure if that’s exactly what happened, it’s plausible she influenced their decision. However, I hope the industry doesn’t turn against Taylor for wielding too much power. We’ve seen before how they humble artists who become too influential, like what happened with Drake. None of that seemed coincidental to me.
But anyway, what do you all think about this? Please like, comment, and subscribe