BET Puts Hip-Hop and Soul Train Awards on Hold, Fat Joe Says Budget Cuts Take Aim at Black Shows

BET Networks suspended its Hip-Hop Awards and Soul Train Awards this week. The move sparked criticism from Fat Joe, who claims that money cuts hit Black shows harder than others.

"This is a form of gentrification. What's going on right now," said Fat Joe during the August 6 episode of his Joe and Jada podcast. "So, BET came up as a community station for black people, right? In urban culture. And our man, Bob Johnson, took the check. He sold it. First black billionaire or whatever the case may be. He sold it to Viacom and Paramount, MTV and them, VH1 and them," Joe continued.

BET's CEO, Scott Mills, shared with Billboard about the indefinite pause of the BET Hip-Hop Awards and Soul Train Music Awards. He stated that the network has a "team that's actively thinking about where those award shows might best live as the media climate continues to evolve."

Since Viacom bought BET from Bob Johnson for $3 billion in 2001, much has changed. Fat Joe, who led the Hip-Hop Awards three times, watched the cuts unfold.

"Little by little over the years, quietly, they've been firing a lot of people behind the scenes at BET, and everybody who has something to say, they've been firing them," Joe revealed in the podcast episode. "And I know because I've been working on the BET Hip-Hop Awards for three years. The budget, not for me, but the budget just kept getting chopped and chopped and chopped."

Fat Joe pointed out stark contrasts between BET and other shows. While MTV's Video Music Awards (VMAs) still fund big acts like Katy Perry's aerial stunts, BET shows face strict limits. "Last year, I debuted my single with Khalid in the VMAs, and Katy Perry still flying through the air in the VMAs," the "Lean Back" rapper expressed.

This news comes as Paramount Global completes its merger with Skydance Media in an $8.4 billion deal to form a new company, "Paramount, A Skydance Corporation."

As part of wider company changes, staff cuts hit the BET network in June. There were also talks of Paramount Global selling BET to a group with Scott Mills at the helm for about $1.7 billion, but no official statement confirming this has been released yet. 

The NAACP Image Awards and Stellar Awards will stay, but Hip-Hop and Soul Train shows got the boot. MTV's Video Music Awards will light up New York City on September 7.