Key Takeaways:

• Wale revealed on “Club Shay Shay” that not being acknowledged by Kai Cenat on the 2025 BET Awards affected his psychological well being.
• The rapper stated the second left him upset for a number of days and highlighted the emotional toll of being neglected.
• The incident sparked broader conversations about generational gaps and psychological well being in hip hop.

Wale has all the time worn his emotions on his sleeve, whether or not in track or in interviews. The Washington, D.C. rapper lately revealed how the viral second when Kai Cenat didn’t acknowledge him adversely affected his psychological well being.

The now notorious incident occurred in June through the BET Awards, when Cenat interacted with Wale and seemingly didn’t know who he was. He even mispronounced his identify as “Wally.” Later on, Wale approached the streamer to let him know the way the web was reacting to the second. Nevertheless, Cenat performed it off.

While on the “Club Shay Shay” podcast, host Shannon Sharpe requested Wale why he didn’t give the content material creator grace since he was solely 20 years outdated. (Cenat simply turned 24).

“I was upset for like five days in a row,” stated Wale, acknowledging that he wanted to watch out along with his rhetoric, noting that Cenat has commented on his personal psychological well being. “So when he’s talking about mental health at the [Streamer Awards], I’m like, ‘Yes, yes, yes, mental health, you get it now.’”

Clearly the second nonetheless strikes a nerve. He added, “Imagine giving your life to this game and then you go to the awards to just support the culture that you’ve been a part of for 13 years, and then somebody who asked you to play a video [game], like ‘Yeah, yeah, let’s play one day,’ ‘cause you saw them last year, and then you go online and everybody’s like, ‘Yo, Kai Cenat, he didn’t know who you was. That was funny.’ And you in a room full of your peers.”

Wale isn’t capping. While the second went viral, many famous, together with Wale, that the prior 12 months each participated in a star soccer sport. The everything is a lot artist additionally maintained he wasn’t attempting to “press” the streamer. To Cenat’s credit score, he took possession of his fake pas shortly afterward — by additionally pinning it on his youth. “I hope he didn’t take my interaction personal,” said Cenat on his Twitch stream. “How can you blame me for just being who I am? I’m young.”

Regardless of who’s in charge, the truth that each events are acknowledging their emotional well being is vital — and it is a good factor.