Usher Slams Conspiracist Who Claimed His NAACP Speech Thanked Satan: “The Devil Is A Lie!”
Usher has fired back after a conspiracy theorist accused the R&B singer of “thanking the devil” during his NAACP Image Awards acceptance speech as Entertainer of the Year and President’s Award recipient.
The My Way crooner took the stage twice on March 16, where he showed gratitude to his family and the annual awards ceremony presented by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
In his President’s Award speech, he started, “My heart is beating really, really fast. It beats with passion. And I’m very honored to be able to receive this amazing award from the depths of my soul. My passion work is what has mattered for me the moment my mother made me understand what purpose lies with the opportunity to be able to speak to the entire world.”
However, conspiracy theorist, Mark Hanalla, commented underneath a repost of the speech, claiming that Usher began to thank the devil when he stumbled over the word “depths.”
Immediately, Usher addressed the claim on Instagram with the comment: “Get the hell outta here!! God is my lord and savior… the devil is a lie!! You got me f**ked up!! Not today sir… I never have time for this type sh*t but today you gon hear this.”
“So I was a bit nervous and jumbled my words when speaking from my heart… I hate teleprompters and they started to rush me because I was getting a bit long winded… everybody gets nervous, especially in this position,” he continued.
“I was thanking the N double A C P and shift to the depths of my soul… when my words got mixed,” he said. “The devil is always at work… don’t let him use my boy. You terrible for even tryna share this.”
Elsewhere in his acceptance speeches, the 45-year-old honored his family for their everlasting support.
“They say behind or beside or with every strong man is a stronger woman, and for that I thank my mother and I thank my beautiful wife Jennifer for holding me down,” he said. “My kids, I love you guys so, so much. I hope that I’m an example. I’m a dad whose just trying to get it right every day.”
Speaking of his mother Jonnetta Patton, he added, “I’m thankful for the support that my mother gave me for my dreams. I’m so overwhelmed with appreciation for my entire family, without them I wouldn’t be able to do this. Far too often in our industry do women not get the recognition that they truly deserve. It was even harder for a mother to believe in the dreams that I had ’cause I was unwavering. Being raised without a father in our home, being raised from a single parent, it was a lot.”
He continued: “The tenacity that it took to look within a male-dominated industry to believe in your son unwaveringly… because of that, I have this moment.”
See Usher’s acceptance speeches above and below.
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