Patti LaBelle Criticized After Forgetting Lyrics During ‘Unprofessional’ 2023 BET Performance [VIDEO]

Patti LaBelle received a backlash after she forgot the lyrics of Tina Turner's "The Best" when she performed it at the 2023 BET Awards.

Following Turner's death, LaBelle offered a heartfelt tribute to the late music icon with a performance at the 2023 BET Awards Sunday. She sang the late artist's hit song, "The Best," but she earned criticisms after she forgot the track's lyrics.

Patti LaBelle Criticized Over Forgotten Lyrics at BET Awards

LaBelle graced the stage while donning a sparkly black dress and complemented it with a fringe to honor Turner as she performed "The Best." However, the smooth-sailing performance hit a glitch when the audience blocked the teleprompter, which showed the song's lyrics, causing her to stop and lose her stance in the song.

She told the crowd she could not see the words and explained that she was trying to get back on the pace again, as quoted by Fox News.

Following the blunder, several viewers slammed the singer and called her performance "unprofessional" and "disrespectful."

"The fact that #PattiLabelle couldn't learn the f---ing words to a song as well known as 'The Best' is just downright disrespectful to #TinaTurner and the #BetAwards2023," one said, while another one wrote, "I wanna know who agreed to let Patti Labelle do the tribute to Tina Turner."

Still, others defended her and reminded everyone about her age, that could affect her performance from time to time.

LaBelle expressed how thankful she felt to be chosen to do the Tina Turner tribute at the 2023 BET Awards during her interview with "Good Morning America" the following day. She remembered the late singer and her "friend" whom she called a wonderful woman.

On the other hand, a spokesperson for BET Awards told Fox News Digital that the singer's performance was "incomparable" despite the audience obscuring her view of the lyrics.

Patti LaBelle Says She Did Her Best Despite BET Blunder

Following the criticisms, LaBelle spoke to Entertainment Tonight after her performance and shared that she gave her all to sing the hit song.

"It meant no matter what voice I'm in - I'm hoarse, I have a cold - but whatever, I had to, I was giving it up for Tina Turner, 'cause she's simply the best," she said. "So you heard a little tweak every now and then out there, but I love her, and I did my best."

The Grammy winner was able to be on track again without missing a bit after creating adlib parts.

Tags

Patti Labelle, BET