Patti LaBelle Gives First Interview Following Awkward Tina Turner Tribute at BET Awards: ‘I Felt Really Great’

Just hours after her bungled tribute to the late Tina Turner at the 2023 BET Awards, Patti LaBelle glossed over the controversy during an appearance on Good Morning America early Monday.

In the Grammy winner’s defense, co-host Michael Strahan glossed over it as well.

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“You’re fresh off your performance at the BET Awards honoring the late, great Tina Turner,” Strahan began his interview with LaBelle, who was on hand to promote her guest turn on this week’s The Wonder Years. “How important was it for you to honor her in this way?”

“I was so blessed to honor Tina Turner because that’s my friend from back in the day,” LaBelle responded. “Such a wonderful woman who has done everything. And so many people admire her. When I did it last night I was proud. I felt really great.”

Strahan then added, “We were proud [too.]. And we were happy to watch you do it.” (Watch video here.)

A GMA rep declined to comment on why Strahan sidestepped the controversy during this morning’s Q&A.

In case you missed it, LaBelle forgot the words to Turner’s “The Best,” claiming during the performance that she could not see the lyrics on the teleprompter. “What if I can’t see… the words… I don’t know?” LaBelle ad-libbed early into the song, clearly squinting in the direction of the teleprompter situated in the back of the theater. (This is not the first time LaBelle has struggled with the lyrics to a classic song.)

Asked for comment, a BET spokesperson told THR, “It was an extraordinary privilege to celebrate the life and legacy of Ms. Tina Turner at BET Awards 2023. Having the incomparable Ms. Patti LaBelle on our stage honoring one of her contemporaries was an equal privilege. Due to the crowd’s enthusiasm, the teleprompter was obstructed, obscuring Ms. LaBelle’s view of the lyrics. Nonetheless, we couldn’t be more grateful to Ms. LaBelle for lending her incredible talent to this moment.”

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