West made an appearance at the awards ceremony to commemorate his friend Sean “Diddy” Combs, also known as Puff Daddy, while dressed entirely in black. He mentioned his own “life choices” and “life choices” when paying tribute, which sparked a giggle from the audience and a stir on social media.
Kardashian and West split in 2021, and their divorce was officially finalized this year. Although West has been outspoken about his distaste for the comedian, Kardashian has been seeing SNL star Pete Davidson since their breakup as per News Week.
Combs was introduced to the stage at the BET Awards by West with a Lifetime Achievement Award.
“I go to him for advice to this day,” West said of Combs. “He inspires so many of my choices, so many of my life choices. My wife’s choices.” He paused after this as the crowd in the room reacted. He jokingly added: “Thanks for that, Puff.”
At the awards, Kanye West made an appearance dressed entirely in black. In his address at the 2022 BET Awards, he referred to his ex-wife Kim Kardashian.
People on social media talked about West’s remarks and the fact that his mouth and face were hidden by his clothing.
“Kanye West lost his wife Kim Kardashian to a comedian and he became one,” wrote Twitter user @dme_363.
Reddit users remarked on how “light-hearted” West’s tweet appeared to be, despite the fact that he has previously made threats against Davidson in song lyrics that seemed to reflect his anger at the situation.
“Somebody said he was shading Kim but it sounds like he was joking about the situation,” @imsoappalled222 wrote, while @Minimum_Option6757 added: “Good to hear him joke about it it’s definitely light-hearted.”
“Honestly, that’s nice to see coming from ye. Maybe he’s finally coping,” @gothblessyou said. Another user on Reddit, @itsjustphe, said that both West and Kardashian have reacted to their divorce in good humor, which is a “great way of dealing with painful life situations.”
West had a full black mask covering his face while speaking on stage; he also wore sunglasses, a cap, a coat, and pants.
Some social media users made fun of his appearance, while others noted how he appeared to be short of breath while speaking. They explained this by stating how warm he must have been while wearing all that clothes.
“I can hear Kanye literally fighting to breathe through that mask,” wrote @maniseptum, adding a crying face emoji. Other Twitter users suggested he was breathing like Darth Vader in his speech.
West spoke for over five minutes during the tribute to Combs at the BET Awards. He addressed his recent hiatus, stating that while he wanted to be off the grid for a year, “Puff is pretty persistent.”
“As I should never have Puff have to ever call more than one time,” West said, addressing his tough year. “Any of us in this room if Puff ever needs us, we need to jump and be there. This man has been through, survived a lot of stuff, and broke down a lot of doors so we can be standing.”
West continued: “He broke down so many doors of classism, taste, swag. Puff, if I never told you I love you, you’re my brother.”
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, Babyface, and Kanye West onstage during the 2022 BET Awards. West appeared wearing full black material and clothing.