Patti LaBelle botches BET Awards tribute to Tina Turner: ‘I’m tryin’ y’all’

Patti LaBelle accidentally flubbed her tribute to late music icon Tina Turner during the 2023 BET Awards Sunday night.

LaBelle was singing Turner’s hit song “The Best” when she paused for a moment and admitted she was having trouble reading the teleprompter.

“I can’t see the words – I don’t know, I’m tryin’ y’all,” she half-sang, half-talked at one point.

But LaBelle, 79, quickly regrouped and picked back up as the crowd laughed off her mishap.

The “If Only You Knew” songstress later told Entertainment Tonight that she tried her “best” to get through the awkward flub.

Patti LaBelle singing on stage
“I don’t know, I’m tryin’ y’all,” LaBelle said on Sunday.
Getty Images

“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,” LaBelle said.

“So you heard a little tweak every now and then out there, but I love her, and I did my best.”

Meanwhile, the BET Awards shared their support for LaBelle and blamed the “crowd’s enthusiasm” for blocking her view of the teleprompter.

Patti LaBelle singing on stage
Luckily for the “New Attitude” singer, the crowd seemed to find the blip more funny than irritating.
Getty Images for BET

“Due to the crowd’s enthusiasm, the teleprompter was obstructed, obscuring Ms. LaBelle’s view of the lyrics,” the organization told TMZ in a statement.


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”Nonetheless, we couldn’t be more grateful to Ms. LaBelle for lending her incredible talent to this moment.”

Patti LaBelle singing on the BET Awards
“I love her, and I did my best,” LaBelle said after the performance.
Getty Images for BET
Tina Turner singing on stage
Turner died on May 24.
Getty Images

The awards show emphasized that it was still an “extraordinary privilege to celebrate the life and legacy” of the Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll with the “incomparable” LaBelle.

Page Six has reached out to reps for LaBelle and the BET Awards for comment.

Turner died on May 24 of natural causes after suffering from a “long illness” at her $76 million mansion in Küsnacht, Switzerland. She was 83.

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