YouTubeBET honored Lionel Richie with a Lifetime Achievement award Sunday, which was surely a career highlight for the singer-songwriter. There was only one problem: the network spelled his name wrong.
Richie's last name was displayed as "Ritchie" during the telecast, which was seen by millions of viewers.
The 65-year-old musician has yet to comment on the BET Awards flub via his various social media sites.
During the star-studded event, Pharrell Williams introduced the tribute to Richie, which included clips of the singer's career. Afterward, John Legend sang a medley of Richie's No. 1 hits "Hello" and "Still."
Ledisi covered The Commodores' "Brick House," and Yolanda Adams sang "Jesus Is Love," which earned her a standing ovation. "After listening to 'Jesus Is Love,' I'm glad I sang the song first. Otherwise, I would not be up here. That was absolutely amazing," Richie said during his acceptance speech. "Everyone did a great job." The living legend then said, "These are all the songs that they told me would ruin my career."
"I have a little motto that I use and I'm going to pass it on to the artists of today: Soul is a feeling, not a color. Talent is a God-given gift and not a category. And out of the box, out of the box is that magical place where talent—true talent—goes to live and thrive and breathe," he said. "And may you never give that up as long as you're in this business." He also thanked The Commodores, Berry Gordy and more.
After his speech, Richie performed fan favorites "Easy Like Sunday Morning" and "All Night Long."