TARAJI P. HENSON ADDRESSES KEITH LEE BET AWARDS MIX-UP: 'LIFE REALLY IS TOO SHORT FOR THIS BEHAVIOR'
Taraji P. Henson doesn't have time to worry about any supposed feud or bad blood with Keith Lee.
On Tuesday, Henson, 53, took to Instagram to leave a comment on a post shared by the celeb news account MorningJuiceBox, which referred to a mishap during the 2024 BET Awards on Sunday, which saw Henson handing out roses to celebs in the audience -- but wound up getting Lee mixed up with fellow influencer Jordan Howlett.
Later, Lee, 27, shared a since-deleted TikTok that showed him dropping the rose he received on the floor, over which he wrote, "Our name will be known in every room it's supposed to be, when it's supposed to be, how it's supposed, with no confusion. God is amazing."
According to Henson's comment, however, this sort of alleged shade-throwing isn't worth the effort or the attention.
"Life really is too short for this behavior," Henson wrote, before explaining her side of the mix-up. "He wasn't in his seat🤷🏾♀️ They give celebrity assigned seats! I rehearsed all damn day to go hit my mark and that young man wasn't in his seat so HE MISSED HIS MOMENT!"
"His ego is hurt. He will be fine. I cleaned it up at the end of the show," she added. "No love lost here."
Henson served as host for the third year in a row, and during the show, she did a bit where she "gave people their flowers" as a way of celebrating them. During the segment, Henson made her way to the front of the audience, where Lee was sitting with his wife, Ronnie, which was when things got dicey.
Henson approached Howlett (who is known as Jordan Thee Stallion on TikTok) and the Oscar-nominated actress then turned to the camera and began a portion of the bit meant to be directed to Lee. Howlett laughed as he awkwardly pointed to Lee, and Henson quickly pivoted and redirected her remarks while joking that she "got caught up in my own inner monologue."
"I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed.
To Lee's credit, the influencer, food critic and former MMA fighter clarified in a TikTok on Monday that he wasn't upset with Henson at all, but rather felt the show did a poor job of organizing the bit.
"I am not upset at Taraji P. Henson by any stretch of the imagination," Lee said in a video he recorded from inside his car. "And not only that, in my opinion, she smoked it last night."
In the post, Lee explained that the video of him dropping the rose was not meant to imply he was mad at Henson.
"The reason I did this had nothing to do with Taraji P. Henson. The reason I did this is that I wholeheartedly believe it wasn't my rose, it wasn't my moment. It was given to me, but it wasn't mine," he shared. "I always say, I don't want nothing that wasn't mine."
Lee said the entire segment "felt extremely unprepared and unprofessional" and that they had him and his wife change seats to facilitate the bit, but didn't do what they needed to in order to make sure the segment was a success -- which also proved embarrassing for Henson.
"It is what it is. I just wish they would have set both of us up for success in that situation," Lee said.
Prior to heading inside for the show, ET spoke to Lee on the blue carpet, who dished about attending the event alongside his wife.
"It's amazing. I'm blessed to be here," Lee shared. "We look amazing. My wife looks amazing. God is amazing. I'm just here. I'm thankful. We're everywhere we're supposed to be at all times."
Lee said that never in his wildest dreams would he have imagined attending the event with his wife, but he was grateful.
"I wouldn't have believed," he said. "I always knew that I would be somebody, I always knew that God destined something for me special. I just never knew what path it was going to take me and I'm here for every path that he puts me on."
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