GloRilla unexpectedly found herself in the middle of controversy earlier this week after winning the year’s Dr. Bobby Jones Best Gospel/Inspirational Award at the 2025 BET Awards on Monday (June 9).

Triumphing over genre staples like Maverick City Music, Tamela Winn, Yolanda Adams, and others, the victory earned her and the network quite the side-eye from some viewers – particularly because Glo, the most successful female rapper of 2024, lost in every other category she was nominated for.

Leading the charge against BET for honoring genre “outsiders” in the Gospel field was singer-songwriter Deitrick Haddon who dropped jaws when he spoke out and called the femcee’s win “discouraging and disappointing.”

 

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After garnering backlash himself for what many perceived as subtle disses against Glo and Kirk Franklin (who features on the song the rapper won the BET Award for), Haddon returned to social media to address his critics.

“I said what I said, and I stand on it.  No backpedaling. No apologies. Just truth,” he said in the caption of the Instagram video seen above posted Friday (June 13). “My heart was never to tear anyone down, but to speak UP for the gospel artists who’ve labored, sacrificed, and carried this sacred genre through every storm. When we start handing gospel awards to artists outside the genre, without honoring those in it, we lose something sacred.”

To underscore the caption, he spoke about Glo directly in the accompanying clip.

“What I’m saying is not about GloRilla; GloRilla didn’t choose herself. Somebody made the decision to give her the Gospel award,” he relayed before saying some people have called him “jealous” and a “hater” for his commentary on the matter. “GloRilla has the right to give God praise and continue to do more Gospel collaborations. Nobody is trying to take anything from her. We just want to make sure our [Gospel artists] are being respected.”

And while Glo hasn’t issued an official statement on the topic, she did take to the comments of our friends at TSR to show love to Haddon before his reaction to the backlash.

“I love Deitrick Haddon…[he’s one of my] top 5 Gospel artists,” she commented.

Your thoughts?

The post Gospel Star Deitrick Haddon Reacts to Backlash for Criticizing BET Awards for Giving GloRilla the Gospel Award: “No Apologies…I Said What I Said” appeared first on ..::That Grape Juice.net::.. - Thirsty?.