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Tyler Perry minced no words at the BET Awards Monday night … taking the chance to rip into President Donald Trump‘s America for erasing Black history right before the country’s eyes.
Here’s what went down — TP hit the stage and gave an impassioned speech following a sweet story about him and his son leaving footprints in the sand together.
In the speech, he likened the footprints to those his fellow Black Americans have left on the country through its history, while delivering a sobering warning … “They are removing our books from libraries, they are removing our stories and our history, they are removing our names from government buildings. It’s as if someone wants to erase our footprints.”
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He reminded the audience of tragedies the Black community has endured due to people wanting to keep them repressed, such as the violent 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre — when businesses on Oklahoma’s “Black Wall Street” were burned to the ground in an effort to halt Black progress.
The movie mogul made sure to uplift his community … reminding them it’s not possible to be erased from history, and encouraging them to stand up for what’s right.
He urged … “This is not the time to give up. This is the time to dig in and keep leaving footprints everywhere you go.”
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Tyler also used his spirited speech at Los Angeles’ Peacock Theater to call out Hollywood directly, noting … “I can tell you this, I have made more Black billionaires, hear me when I say this, than any studio in this city combined. Because I’m making footprints.”
Leaving the audience with more motivation, he added … “I don’t care if you’re struggling, if you’re trying to make it, you’re trying to build a business, if you have a dream, keep making footprints. Don’t let anybody stop you, you can do it.”
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The BET Awards saw many powerful speeches Monday night … with Doechii calling out Trump for using military force on Los Angeles protestersagainst the ongoing ICE raids.
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Jamie Foxxbroke down in tears during his heartfelt speech as he accepted the Ultimate Icon Award and recalled his 2023 stroke that nearly killed him.
The 2025 BET Awards were clearly not just a night of celebration of Hollywood success in the Black community — but a powerful platform to turn up and speak about pressing issues.
