During BET Awards telecast on Sunday, June 29, the singer accepted his award with the name 'Lionel Ritchie' appearing on-screen.
- Jul 1, 2014
AceShowbiz - Lionel Richie was a big winner at the 2014 BET Awards as he was honored with the Lifetime Achievement award at the event which aired live on Sunday night, June 29. However, BET seemingly mixed up the singer's last name with someone else's as he accepted his award onstage with the name "Lionel Ritchie" appearing on-screen.
The misspelled name soon started trending on Twitter. Some viewers who were aware of the error talked about it on the micro-blogging site. "@LionelRichie's name better not be misspelled on the actual award," one viewer said. Another added, "You really didn't misspell his name, @BETAwards!!!!???? C'mon y'all!!! OMG!!!"
Before taking the stage to accept his award from Pharrell Williams, Richie was treated to performances by several artists including John Legend, Ledisi and Yolanda Adams who covered his songs.
"That was absolutely amazing," Richie said. "Everyone did a great job. These are all the songs that they told me would ruin my career."
He added, "Soul is a feeling, not a color. Talent is a God-given gift and not a category. Out of the box is that magical place where talent - pure talent - goes to live and thrive and breath. And may you never give that up as long as you're in this business."
