BET Awards Brawl Between Rick Ross And Young Jeezy Won’t Affect Show’s Airing
The BET Awards brawl between rap heavyweight Rick Ross and Young Jeezy will not affect the airing of the awards show despite continual concerns about violence in the hip-hop community.
The BET Awards brawl brought to mind shades of the late 90s when violence was endemic in hip-hop, culminating in the high-profile and still unsolved nearly 20 years later deaths of hip-hop legends The Notorious BIG and Tupac Shakur.
While the BET Awards brawl did not escalate to injuries, it still was redolent of the days when shootings in the rap world were a more common occurrence, and, indeed, reports of shots fired circulated, though Atlanta police later said that there was no indication gunfire broke out:
“Shortly after 7:15 pm Saturday, a fight broke out in the parking lot at the Atlanta Civic Center (where the BET Awards were being taped) between two groups. Atlanta Police Department officers on scene responded to break up the fight and used OC spray in the process. Individuals fled the scene. There were no arrests or reports of serious injuries. Reports of shots fired appear to be untrue.”
The network addressed the BET Awards brawl after the story swept the web and sparked fan interest worldwide, and the station indicated that in the wake of the drama that BET “does not condone any type of violence.” BET also confirmed that “local authorities are working to resolve the situation as quickly as possible.”
Despite the distraction of the BET Awards brawl between Rick Ross and Young Jeezy, the show is still set to air on October 9.
