Usher has denied a bizarre claim that he is involved with Satanism after giving a “nervous” speech at the NAACP Image Awards.
The R&B legend was honored at the ceremony earlier this month, taking home Entertainer of the Year as well as the President’s Award.
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Usher gave two speeches on the night, the first celebrating his family: “They say behind or beside or with every strong man is a stronger woman, and for that I thank my mother and I thank my beautiful wife Jennifer for holding me down.”
He added: “My kids, I love you guys so, so much. I hope that I’m an example. I’m a dad whose just trying to get it right every day.
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“I’m thankful for the support that my mother gave me for my dreams. I’m so overwhelmed with appreciation for my entire family, without them I wouldn’t be able to do this.”
The Confessions crooner also praised his mother when accepting the President’s Award, saying: “Far too often in our industry do women not get the recognition that they truly deserve.
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“It was even harder for a mother to believe in the dreams that I had ’cause I was unwavering. Being raised without a father in our home, being raised from a single parent, it was a lot.
“The tenacity that it took to look within a male-dominated industry to believe in your son unwaveringly … because of that, I have this moment.”
An Instagram account belonging to conspiracy theorist Mark Hanalla later claimed that Usher nearly thanked the Devil in his speech when he stuttered saying the word “depths.”
The singer refuted the claims, commenting on the post: “Get the hell outta here!! God is my lord and savior… the devil is a lie!! You got me fucked up!! Not today sir… I never have time for this type shit but today you gon hear this.
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“So I was a bit nervous and jumbled my words when speaking from my heart… I hate teleprompters and they started to rush me because I was getting a bit long winded… everybody gets nervous, especially in this position.
“I was thanking the N double A C P and shift to the depths of my soul… when my words got mixed. The devil is always at work… don’t let him use my boy. You terrible for even tryna share this.”
Usher isn’t the only music star who’s been forced to address claims they’re a Satanist. Last year, Doja Cat called the accusations “annoying” and “tacky” in an interview with Apple Music.
Talking about her “Scarlet” music video, she said: “So I chose that visual and applied it to the sound and people made up what they [want], which is what you do with art. You interpret it how you want to interpret it. Everybody has a right to interpret how they want.”
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She continued: “But this whole very confident ‘Satanism’ thing is like — I’m sorry, when the fuck did I say that I was a Satanist? Or even go marching outside the church? When the fuck did I say that?
“It’s really tacky and annoying and discredits a lot of the hard work that I’ve put in.”
