Keith Lee is speaking out following his viral mishap with Taraji P. Henson at the 2024 BET Awards.
The TikTok food critic was sitting with his wife in the front row at the awards ceremony on Sunday (June 29) when three-time host Henson confused him with another social media influencer. The clip was widely circulated online, with Henson catching heat over the faux pas.
Taraji P. Henson confuses Keith Lee and Jordan Howlett at the #BETAwards pic.twitter.com/o7Mtt8Rn3L
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) July 1, 2024
However, Keith Lee said Henson was not to blame and faulted BET for rushing the segment. Lee took to TikTok on Monday evening (July 1) to clarify his thoughts on the situation.
“First and foremost, I want to start by saying I am not upset at Taraji P. Henson by any stretch of the imagination. In my opinion, she smoked it last night,” he explained. “I don’t think for one second Taraji had any ill will or any ill intentions behind the situation. The situation happened the way it did. It is what it is.”
He continued, “The entire segment on the production side felt extremely rushed. Not only did it feel rushed, it did not feel intentional. It did not feel purposeful.”
After adding that he appreciated the opportunity to attend the BET Awards, Lee insisted he and his wife would have been “grateful to just sit there and enjoy the show.”
Keith Lee Claims BET Gave Henson “No Direction”
Furthermore, Lee slammed BET for the hurried production and said he and his wife enjoyed the show.
“I’ve always spoken about my social anxiety, and for me just to get out and be in that moment was more than enough for me. So to take me and my wife out of our seats, put us in different seats, give Taraji no direction to who we are and what we do felt extremely unprepared and unprofessional to me,” Lee stated.
@keith_lee125 💕 Keith Speaks 💕 God Is Amazing 🙏🏽 #foodcritic 💕@Ronni Lee @Taraji P. Henson @BET Networks
♬ original sound – Keith Lee
Shortly after Sunday’s ceremony, Lee shared a since-deleted video of him dropping the rose Henson gave him on the floor. “It was deleted because my message was completely misconstrued,” he shared.
“The reason I did this had nothing to do with Taraji P Henson,“ Lee said in the new video. “I whole-heartedly believe that wasn’t my rose.”
Keith Lee throws the rose Taraji P. Henson gave him on the ground 👀 pic.twitter.com/rMTCnbzCtt
— Peter Dredd (@PeterDredd) July 1, 2024