Diddy made a bold statement for his hosting debut at the 2022 Billboard Music Awards on Sunday by “uncanceling the canceled.”
The Bad Boy creator put his stamp on the nationally televised award show. He dropped the N-bomb during his intro, heavily promoted his Ciroc imprint, and presented the first-ever REVOLT Black Excellence Award, as noted by The Daily Beast.
But it was Diddy’s decision to give rapper Travis Scott and country singer Morgan Wallen a chance at redemption that had the internet talking.
“We’re uncanceling the canceled,” Diddy said about an hour and a half into the show. “[Brother] Love does not rock like that. I looked at Morgan’s situation. I looked at Travis’ situation.”
“And I said, man, I got some power to do something about that because we can’t start that in the music industry or even in life, period. So I’m here to forgive, to unify, to celebrate, and to have everybody be free.”
Scott has maintained a low profile following the tragedy at his Astroworld Festival in November 2022. A mass casualty resulted in 10 people dying, including a 9-year-old boy, the Houston Chronicle reports.
The rapper has been on the receiving end of a class-action lawsuit, including hundreds of concertgoers and a series of wrongful death lawsuits.
Days before the award show, Diddy revealed how hard he petitioned to get Scott a performance slot on the show.
https://twitter.com/mymixtapez/status/1523791244736200704?s=20&t=VsKnqpdsWs4RiOJCoDEaIQ
On the other hand, Wallen faced backlash after a video showing him calling a man the N-word surfaced online in February 2021. Diddy’s decision to celebrate Wallen on the main stage Sunday night had many Twitter users scratching their heads.
“Diddy ‘uncanceling’ Morgan Wallen and having him perform at the show while awarding Tamika Mallory an award for her dedication to activism makes no sense,” one Twitter user said.
diddy "uncanceling" morgan wallen and having him perform at the show while awarding tamika mallory an award for her dedication to activism makes no sense #BBMAs
— wednesdea addams (@deathefangirl) May 16, 2022
“Diddy gives an award for activism against racism while simultaneously giving platform to Morgan Wallen #BBMAs,” added someone else.
“Diddy gives an award for activism against racism while simultaneously giving platform to Morgan Wallen #BBMAs pic.twitter.com/I8SyHAAMVt
— ubuntu (@chilombooo1) May 16, 2022
“Morgan Wallen is a white man caught on camera slinging the n word around, and yet Diddy thinks it’s worth “uncancelling” him? It’s not about cancel culture. It’s about Morgan Wallen being despicable.
Morgan Wallen is a white man caught on camera slinging the n word around, and yet Diddy thinks it’s worth “uncancelling” him? It’s not about cancel culture. It’s about Morgan Wallen being despicable. https://t.co/KlieS1BktZ
— Listen To Me Speak Podcast (@djkaytastrophe) May 13, 2022
Diddy has been silent about the criticism over his attempt to “uncancel” Travis Scott and Morgan Wallen.