Hudlin Gets the Boot at BET!

I can't exactly say I'm surprised or upset that Reginald Hudlin, former president of BET Networks received his walking papers. BET hasn't exactly been on my hit list lately. In the last several years they managed to encourage the stereotypes that perpetuate the opinions of folks and how they view Black people--African-American for those who are politically correct.

The fact that BET refuses to include quality programming has added to my already low opinion of the network. Forgive me junior, but seeing hip-hop videos, scantily clad women, luxury cars, bling-bling and bafoonery such as that on shows like Hell Date and the now defunct Hot Ghetto Mess, do not excite me. Maybe it's because I'm getting older, but even in my twenties I saw some things in the genre (hip-hop) that made me put my head down.

Don't get me wrong, I've enjoyed some of the network's shows--the awards mostly, because I got a chance to see icons like James Brown, Al Green, and Chaka Khan perform. The 2005 BET Awards was my favorite, (What woman wouldn't want to see 50 Cent sweat) but seeing the operations behind the scene let me know the network is in need of some major help. TV One, a BET competitor, has realized that yes, Black people do live the good life, as captured on many of the Maryland-based network's lifestyle programs. BET is still in the dark on this, or maybe they didn't get the memo. There is more to us than jokes and b***s***.

I knew something was definitely wrong when I witnessed one of their key publicity employees confuse Derek Luke with Idris Elba. Luke was about to walk the red carpet and she instructed the host to announce him as "Derek Luke from The Wire. Derek Luke has never been on The Wire. Maybe he's seen a few episodes (lol), but he's never been on the show. How can you be in PR for a major network and not know your major artists?? I'm still baffled by that one.

BET is legendary in the sense that it was the first network for us by us. As time wares on I hope that they can put their brains together and get some quality programming on the show. We don't need us to make us look bad. We can rely on VH1 for that.