Wale Gets Nintendo Switch Sponsorship Out Of Awkward Kai Cenat Encounter At BET Awards

Important things were happening at Sunday's BET Awards, like Doechii speaking out against Donald Trump's use of the military to quell anti-ICE protests in LA. But the biggest story to come out of the ceremony was a trivial personal tiff.

The mega-popular streamer Kai Cenat was livestreaming himself walking through a parking garage when he was approached by the rapper Wale, who was carrying a Nintendo Switch. "What's up, Kai?" Wale said. Cenat replied, "What up, broski?" He then gave Wale a friendly embrace and asked, "You good? What you playing on your Nintendo Switch?" Wale replied that he was playing Super Smash Bros., and Cenat exclaimed, "Smash Bros?" I'll beat you!" This all seemed innocuous enough, but when Cenat sat down in the backseat of his car, still livestreaming, he revealed he didn't know who he had just been talking to. People in his live chat had recognized Wale, and someone in his entourage explained who Wale is, referencing his hit "Lotus Flower Bomb."

Wale has never taken kindly to perceived slights. In 2013, he famously called the Complex office to rant after his album was left off their year-end list, and in 2022 he dropped off the Broccoli City Festival in his hometown of Washington, DC, citing disrespect. So when the Cenat clip promptly went viral, Wale confronted the Twitch star at the ceremony while he was conversing with Snoop Dogg. Wale leaned down and told Cenat, "That shit making me look crazy." It became the kind of story that merits dissection on programs like The Joe Budden Podcast.

The good news for Wale is that he got a Nintendo sponsorship out of it. A new sponsored tweet from Wale's account recycles the Cenat encounter and ends with the official Switch logo. Good to see him getting the bag. Incidentally, the Switch 2 just went on sale last week, moving a record-breaking 3.5 million units in four days. Check out the Wale saga in archived form below.