Jamie Foxx gave an emotional plea to end gun violence as he hosted the BET Awards
The 50-year-old star gave a seemingly-unrehearsed speech about the death of 20-year-old rapper XXXTentacion - who was gunned down in Florida last week - recalled how he was in Las Vegas when Tupac Shakur was killed in 1996 and in Los Angeles when Notorious B.I.G. was fatally shot the following year and urged people to stop getting "used" to such tragedies.
18 July 2018
He said: "I want to take a moment and acknowledge this young brother who was killed earlier this week.
"Young people, you have got to stop the violence. Whether you agreed with his lifestyle or not, he was a young talent who was taken from us too soon. No matter where you start, you have the opportunity to change.
"I think what needs to happen -- and at the risk of sounding old -- is that we can't get too used to these type of things. We're too used to young people being killed, it's like we don't even trip anymore.
"We gotta' adjust our satellite just a bit. We all have to figure out a way to not become too used to what's going on right now."
The 'Django Unchained' star urged musicians to "sneak" positive messages into their work and called for a solution to the ongoing violence.
He added: "It seems senseless. I'm not saying that we can stop everything, but we gotta' figure something out."
Elsewhere during the ceremony, which took place at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California, Jamie went off-script again when he gave a spontaneous shout-out to Donald Glover.
He first copied the dance moves from Childish Gambino's 'This Is America', before saying he wanted to "acknowledge" the musician-and-actor.
He said: "That song should not be joked about. This young man, Childish Gambino, Donald Glover -- singer, songwriter, philanthropist, movie star, overall badass. ... A true artist. ... I wanna acknowledge you."
He then invited the 34-year-old star to join him on stage, and after the paid hugged, Donald performed a few verses from 'This Is America'.
He then said: "I'm really happy to be in this room with everybody... I really was not expecting to get up here."
The night's host then praised the impact the 'Atlanta' star has had on entertainment in recent years before noting Donald's awards show attire, which the 'Solo: A Star Wars Story' star said were "pyjamas".
Jamie quipped: "[Like] you just rolled out of bed. That's how you know you're rich -- get out of bed with your pyjamas on and come to the BET Awards."
And poking fun at Donald, one of his many costume changes later in the show was a barely-tied robe and his underwear.
He laughed: "This is how I sleep, bro!"
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