Gospel singer Deitrick Haddon has publicly criticized the decision to award rapper GloRilla the Dr. Bobby Jones Best Gospel/Inspirational Award at the 2024 BET Awards, which took place Monday, June 9.
GloRilla, who received six nominations overall, took home the Gospel award for her hit “Rain Down on Me” featuring Kirk Franklin and Maverick City Music. The track, which also made Billboard history, marks her as the first female rapper to win in the category.
During her emotional acceptance speech, GloRilla said:
“This is my first BET Award even though I’ve been here three years and nominated six times, it’s a blessing to get the Gospel award first because I owe it all to God.”
However, not all in the Gospel community shared the sentiment. Deitrick Haddon voiced his strong disapproval in a social media video the following day, saying:
“It’s already a small genre, so it’s hard for us to watch the Dr. Bobby Jones Gospel Award being given to somebody that’s not in our space. No disrespect to the artist, but that’s not the space she’s in. So, it makes it discouraging, disappointing, and it takes the wind out of all of it.”
Deitrick Haddon also expressed frustration with BET’s repeated celebration of Kirk Franklin at the expense of other gospel artists:
“We’re tired of seeing the same people being celebrated year after year like there is nobody else in Gospel music. Like no one else is working,” he said. “You cannot just give it to one person as if they’re the one that’s keeping [the genre] going.”
At the time of this report, neither GloRilla, Kirk Franklin, nor BET have issued responses to Haddon’s remarks.
