Celebrities

Ye is back: Kanye honours Diddy and throws shade at Kim Kardashian at BET Awards

"He inspired so many of my choices. So many of my life choices. My wife choices."

Kanye West has returned to the public eye.

After a short break, the rapper made a surprise appearance at the BET Awards on Sunday.

Kanye took the stage to present the Lifetime Achievement Award to his longtime friend Sean "Diddy" Combs.

"How do we crown our kings? How do we appreciate our kings?" his speech began, before praising Diddy's work in the music industry.

"This is my favourite artist," he clarified, "you see I'm saying 'favourite artist'."

"Everything. Not specifically production, the drip. Back then, there were so many rules to hip-hop, and he broke all of them."

Reflecting on what he learned from Diddy in his own career, Ye even referenced his failed marriage to Kim Kardashian, sparking mixed reactions from the crowd.

Kanye joked: "and here we are. Thanks for that, Puff."

"I took a hiatus, I wanted to just declare myself legally dead for a year," Ye said, which we assume is reffering to his absence online after being banned from Instagram.

"Nobody messin' me. You know, I just want to be off the grid."

The speech is the first time Ye has mentioned Kim since their Instagram feud.

If you're a Ye fan, you'll know he recently stepped away from the public eye after his divorce from Kim Kardashian hit a low point.

After filing for divorce in February 2021, Kim and Ye's divorce took a messy turn in November when Kim and her current boyfriend, Pete Davidson, began dating.

Of course, Kim's new romance with Pete made the situation extremely awkward, and Ye ended up voicing his frustrations all over social media.

Most famously in his music video for 'Eazy', where an animated figure of Pete Davidson is seen buried in the ground.

His Instagram account was suspended for 24 hours in March after he violated the platform's harassment policies, and there are currently no posts from the rapper on his Instagram account.

But, despite keeping a low profile since all of the drama reached boiling point, Ye seemed to suggest that the chance to honour Diddy was an opportunity he couldn't pass on.

"Any of us in this room, if Puff ever needs us, we need to jump and be there." Kanye explained.

He finished his speech by telling Diddy: "If I never told you, I love you. You're my brother."

Well, now that both Kim and Kanye have publicly joked about their failed marriage, it seems like things might finally be looking a little more friendly between the two, as they manage the final stages of their divorce.