Key Takeaways:
- Wale revealed on “Club Shay Shay” that not being recognized by Kai Cenat at the 2025 BET Awards affected his mental health.
- The rapper said the moment left him upset for several days and highlighted the emotional toll of being overlooked.
- The incident sparked broader conversations about generational gaps and mental health in Hip Hop.
Wale has always worn his feelings on his sleeve, whether in song or in interviews. The Washington, D.C. rapper recently revealed how the viral moment when Kai Cenat didn’t recognize him adversely affected his mental health.
The now infamous incident occurred in June during the BET Awards, when Cenat interacted with Wale and seemingly didn’t know who he was. He even mispronounced his name as “Wally.” Later on, Wale approached the streamer to let him know how the internet was reacting to the moment. Nevertheless, Cenat played it off.
While on the “Club Shay Shay” podcast, host Shannon Sharpe asked Wale why he didn’t give the content creator grace since he was only 20 years old. (Cenat just turned 24).
“I was upset for like five days in a row,” said Wale, acknowledging that he needed to be careful with his rhetoric, noting that Cenat has commented on his own mental health. “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 moment still 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 moment went viral, many noted, including Wale, that the prior year both participated in a celebrity football game. The everything is a lot. artist also maintained he wasn’t trying to “press” the streamer. To Cenat’s credit, he took ownership of his faux pas shortly afterward — by also 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 to blame, the fact that both parties are acknowledging their emotional health is important — and it's a good thing.