Nationwide — At the 2024 BET Awards, host Taraji P. Henson made the mistake of misidentifying Keith Lee in the audience. Afterwards, she gave him a rose and he was seen on camera letting the rose fall to the ground after she left. Keith Lee has since responded as to why he did that in .
In the video he explains, “I didn’t think Taraji had any ill will or any ill intentions behind the situation. The situation happened the way it did. It is what it is. I made a video last night where I had the rose that was given to me in my hand, and I let it fall on the floor. The reason I did this had nothing to do with Taraji P. Henson. The reason I dropped it on the floor is that I wholeheartedly believe that wasn’t my rose. That wasn’t my moment. It was given to me, but it wasn’t mine. And I always say I don’t want nothing that ain’t mine. I want what’s meant for me. Nothing less. Nothing more.”
He went on to say, “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. I’m forever thankful for every room that I’m in. I was more than thankful and more than grateful to just sit there and enjoy the show. Me and my wife looked amazing. We felt amazing. We were enjoying the show.”
He added “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 any my wife out of our seats, put us in different seats, and give Taraji no direction to who we are or what we do felt extremely unprepared and unprofessional to me. I’m personally a fan of Taraji. I’ve been for years, and I always will be. I loved to see her get the recognition that she deserved in that moment and have the platform and the stage that she’s always deserved. For this situation to take away from her moment and our moment was unfair to both of us. Another example of this is a picture of my wife that has been going around. It was a small part cut from the entire moment to make it seem like she had an attitude with Taraji.”
Lee also said that he and his wife fully understand that Taraji’s flirtatious behavior was just an innocent part of the jokes that she was making on the spot.
