BET has suspended a producer after a joke about Blue Ivy’s hair, aired Monday on the network’s music video countdown show, “106 & Park.”
A producer for BET’s video countdown show 106 & Park was suspended after a VJ made an insensitive joke about Jay Z and Beyoncé’s daughter Blue Ivy on Monday’s broadcast, the Associated Press reports. The reprimand stemmed from a comment guest host Karrueche Tran said about the 2-year-old child’s hair, a source at BET told AP under the condition of anonymity.
The dig, reportedly read off a script, was made during a satirical segment “The Top 6 Things Blue Ivy Thought About the VMAs.” Tran said: “I really did wake up like this, because my parents never comb my hair.” (Blue Ivy attended the MTV Music Video Awards with her parents Sunday night, and appeared onstage with Jay Z during the presentation of Beyoncé’s Video Vanguard award.)
Tran’s remark triggered a firestorm of angry tweets from Beyoncé fans, prompting a response from Stephen Hill, BET’s president of music programming and specials. Hill said the network had apologized privately to Beyoncé and Jay Z.
Stephen Hill, BET’s president of music programming and specials, publicly apologised on Twitter.
“Last night on 106 & Park there was a stupid, unthoughtful joke made about a young child,” Hill tweeted.
Hill also said the network privately apologised to Beyoncé and Jay Z.
BET didn’t return an email seeking comment Wednesday.
Tran, who has dated singer Chris Brown on and off, tweeted Tuesday that she did not write the joke. She wrote: “Now y’all know I LOVE me some Beyoncé and Blue Ivy!”
Hill also tweeted that it was not Tran’s fault.
“We also apologise to her for putting her in that position,” he wrote.