BET was quick to respond to Fox News contributor Stacey Dash, who said Wednesday that she doesn’t think there is a need for BET or the BET Awards any longer. Dash’s comments did exactly what she wanted them to do, lighting a fire on Twitter and sparking controversy.
While on Fox & Friends Wednesday, the Clueless actress was asked to share her thoughts on the controversy over the Oscar nominations, which didn’t include any black actors. She called the outrage “ludicrous.”
“Either we want to have segregation or integration and if we don’t want segregation, we need to get rid of channels like BET and the BET Awards and the Image Awards, where you’re only awarded if you’re black,” Dash said. “If it were the other way around, we’d be up in arms. It’s a double standard.”
Later, BET issues a statement to Entertainment Weekly, explaining why it needs to exist. BET Networks Chairman and CEO Debra Lee said:
“Over 35 years ago BET was created to give African Americans and lovers of black culture a place in the television landscape where they could consistently see themselves represented and celebrated. Through our award shows and programming we have recognized incredible talent that simply does not get recognized elsewhere — from entertainment to politics to business to the arts. African American contributions to American culture are countless and we cannot and should not wait for anyone to acknowledge them — we have to do it ourselves and we are proud that we can do our part with the BET Awards, BET Honors, Black Girls Rock, Soul Train Awards, BET Hip Hop Awards, Celebration of Gospel and more!”
BET wasn’t done. The network later tweeted a link to a gallery it created called “Every Time Stacey Dash Proved She Was Clueless.”
Meanwhile, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump told Fox News that he agreed with Dash, reports Mediate.
“I saw somebody on your show today saying well, what do we do with BET? Black Entertainment, right?” Trump said. “So over there — the whites don’t get any nominations or don’t get — and I thought it was an amazing interview, actually. I never even thought of it from that standpoint.”