A Lot Of People Summed Up BET's Tribute To Michael Jackson In One Word:Buffoonery!

It seems that the general opinion out there about the 2009 BET Awards show was that it was nothing but a showcase for buffoonery.The comments on one website are so intense that I thought I would post a few of them here.But before I do that,let me share my critique of the show.

I thought it was a really,really good show with a lot of heartfelt performances.Witness Nee-Yo give one of the best tributes to Michael Jackson in the video above. And as always,Beyonce was exactly on point.Watch for yourself if you didn't catch it already.

The problem that I think some people had with the awards show was the fact that they felt it was an inappropriate tribute to the King of Music.What the critics should keep in mind is that this was really an impromptu tribute to Michael Jackson.I'm sure that if they had more time they could have assembled a show that would have appealed to all types of people.

The common complaint was that the 2009 BET Awards show was "too ghetto".Well,let me tell all of those out there right now that I am from West Oakland.In fact,I grew up directly across the street from where Huey Newton was murdered.It was like the heart of the ghetto.So,I happen to have no problem with things or people that can be considered "ghetto".

Let me share another aspect of my life with you.Part of my childhood was spent right off of Trestle Glen Rd. in Oakland,Ca. For those who do not know,that is a suburb.Growing up on two sides of the fence has really taught me to appreciate all things ghetto & suburban.I actually feel more comfortable around folks from the "hood" than I do the ones from the "burbs".There's less pretense in the ghetto.You feel me?


In summation,I think that the BET Awards show tonight represented all types of black folks.From the ones that make you cringe to the folks that make you proud,BET embraced them all.And I think that's how it should be.Give BET some slack,critics!

Now,let me give you other people's take on the 2009 BET Awards show from Entertainment Weekly:

"TC Mon, Jun 29, 2009 at 12:10 AM EST

Where was the real Michael Jackson Tribute??? The show was substandard to what MJJ deserves and it should have truly honored Michael Jackson with a huge/extravagant music and dance tribute. All of the commercials indicated that the show had been overhauled to give honor and tribute to MJJ. I know BET could’ve done better than this! Jamie Foxx did a great job hosting and the O’Jays gave a great performance, other than that, the show was a total disappointment.

Also…I felt like BET mislead the public and participated in false advertisement to increase the BET Award ratings. I could’ve found some people off of the street and put together a show honoring Michael that would have been far superior than tonight’s show.

Also, I agree with KB...Don Cornelius talked TOO LONG and someone should've pulled his coat tail or grabbed him and taped his mouth SHUT!

kb Mon, Jun 29, 2009 at 12:09 AM EST

BTW- At least a picture of Michael Jackson could have been shown with his date of birth up until the year he died. August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009. Come on! That wld have been some sort of tribute..


Himmycat Mon, Jun 29, 2009 at 12:07 AM EST

Yes, we KNOW it was put together at the last minute, and we KNOW Michael's death was unexpected. This was NOT a wedding, Cocobrownface, it was supposed to be a TRIBUTE which, like I said should have been postponed until it could have been properly planned minus all that ghetto profanity and other nonsense!

ThrillerJackson Mon, Jun 29, 2009 at 12:05 AM EST

I think it as good as it was going to get with only a couple days to put together a tribute show since he died so unexpectedly.
http://www.thriller-michael-jackson.com

Juanita Walton Mon, Jun 29, 2009 at 12:05 AM EST

What a mess!!! I was so embarrassed by Jamie Fox, his no funny humor, profanity and sexual overtones. My 14 year old daughter caught the end of the show and asked me why children were on the stage while they bleeped Lil Wayne, singing about sex!!! How inappropriate. Since when is it that you don’t feel comfortable watching an award show with your children. Why can't BET get it together? This was a disgrace as a tribute to Michael Jackson!!!!! BET get some class!!! Stop representing African Americans in this way!!! Thank God for New Addition, Neyo, Maxwell, The O Jays and the tribute to them, JZ , Beyonce and Janet. BET, take control of your show back for goodness sakes. How could you allow this? How could you invite the world to look at this so called tribute to Michael Jackson and do it with such poor taste? I feel so ashamed. You should have waited and not tried to do this in such a hurry. Michael deserved better. We the viewers deserved better. Every thing he did was first class. BET, you deserved better. Please don’t ever do this again. There are people with class who can come on, draw ratings and give a great show. Try it sometimes.

FrustratedStudent Mon, Jun 29, 2009 at 12:01 AM EST

As an African American college student, I have never felt so disgraced and ashamed of a public display of ignorance. The BET Awards paraded a series of performances, acceptance speeches, and production errors that were blatantly appaling.
After watching this program I cannot continue to support this network that commends buffoonery. As Debrorah Lee is graduate from Brown University, you would assume she would attempt to uplift the Black American community as her vital role as CEO of BET. Instead, she attempted to apologize for their lack of effective planning and execution. Michael Jackson deserved a MUCH better tribute. It was evident BET executives did not know how to handle the sudden news, however the situation could have been handled in a much more professional and tasteful manner. The only sincere moment was during Janet Jackson's few words. The smaller tributes were undermining and improperly placed during the show.

Overall, it was a showcase of tacky ignorance.


Ebony Sun, Jun 28, 2009 at 10:58 PM EST

Once again, BET manages to sink lower than it already is. What an absolute COMPLETE Disgrace!
Listen, this was by no means a tribute to Michael Jackson!!!
Michael Jackson is a legend, the crappy performers onstage (and I hate to use the word "performers" to describe such untalented people) were a true disgrace.
Whenever Michael performed he always came with his A game. He was a true entertainer. There was nothing on stage that even resembled a C+ performance.
Michael Jackson is worthy of a true tribute to his greatness!! BET is such a horrible excuse for an awards ceremony. I agree with the other poster, never do a half ass job. If you can't honor Michael correctly, then don't do it at all, because it's a true disgrace!

Unfortunately, BET will have to watch how it's really done, when MTV pays a tribute. Very sad that the black entertainment channel can NEVER get it right!

barak Sun, Jun 28, 2009 at 10:57 PM EST

HORRIBLE----FIRE DEBRA

Kappa1911 Sun, Jun 28, 2009 at 10:56 PM EST

Diana Ross recieved and acheivement award several years ago from BET. Ms. Ross went on stage and told many of the black young Rappers to clean up their act with the profanity and calling women the b word. Ms. Ross also told them to have some class. After the show, many of these hoodlums trashed Diana Ross. I bet many of these hoodlums were lacking black male role models in their lives. As I black male with 2 college Degrees, it was important to be an active role in my 3 black sons lives. All my sons have the same mother and I married their mother. We have too many negative imagines in our community. This is why President Obama kept a low profile on Michael Jackson's death. Many in white America didn't see Michael as a role model and Obama serves a majority white America, not black America."(END OF EXCERPT)Read all of the comments here.