S. Samuel
BET Vice President of Music Programming Stephen Hill has denied rumors that Jay-Z and Beyonce boycotted last weekend's BET Awards 10 because of Chris Brown's attendance.
Hill said there was no talk or acknowledgment of Brown forcing them to not show up.
“They missed the awards, because…we have this conversation almost every year. And, some years we are really fortunate when Jay-Z and Beyonce are in the house and other times, they go on vacation. But I can absolutely say without reservation that there was no conversation at all around, ‘If Chris Brown‘s coming, I’m not coming.’ That’s just false.” (All Hip Hop)
Gossip sites reported that Rihanna also skipped the event due to her ex-boyfriend Chris Brown’s attendance.
Jay Z, Rihanna and Beyonce were all INVITED to perform at the BET Awards. And according to our snitch they all said NO when they learned that Chris Brown would be performing. The insider told MediaTakeOut.com,”Rihanna and Jay have tours coming up that they are having trouble selling – of course they needed the exposure.” But the insider continued, “It was a matter of principal, if BET was willing to support Chris after what he did – that was THEIR BUSINESS. But [Rihanna Jay and Bey] were not going to have ANYTHING to do with the show.” (Daily Fill)
Their absence reportedly had an impact on the show’s overall viewership.
Rihanna, Jay-Z, and Beyonce reportedly boycotted the BET Awards after learning about Chris Brown’s scheduled Michael Jackson Tribute. According to reports, Rihanna, Jay-Z, and Beyonce were all invited to perform at the 2010 BET Awards. Sources say that 15% less viewers watched the BET Awards in 2010 and some blame the absence of Rihanna, Jay-Z, and Beyonce. (Dime Wars)
Hill recently informed SOHH that Jay-Z did not have Brown blackballed from the BET Awards 09.
“The Chris Brown and Jay-Z rumors from last year’s awards show were so inaccurate that sometimes you just don’t respond to it because it’s just ludicrous. I can tell you for a fact that Jay-Z had nothing to do with keeping Chris Brown from the show. Only thing that Jay-Z said about Chris Brown was when we joked about the rumor of him keeping Chris from the show.” (SOHH Guest Star)
Check out Fabolous speaking on this year’s BET Awards down below:
