Wale admits viral Kai Cenat encounter affected his mental health
Wale has revealed that the viral moment of him and Kai Cenat at the 2025 BET Awards affected his mental health.
The DMV rapper bumped into the YouTuber backstage earlier this year, with the young streamer not knowing his identity.
During his appearance on Club Shay Shay, Wale admitted that the incident had a major impact on him, causing him to stay in his hotel room for a couple of days.
“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,” he recalled. “Then you go online, and everybody’s like, ‘Yo, Kai Cenat, he didn’t know who you were.’”
He said that he wished he handled the situation differently, but thought it could be a teachable moment.
Wale was confused because they had previously played in a celebrity football game together. He wrote on Instagram at the time, “This is crazy. I didn’t know we was bein filmed both times. We played in a celebrity football game last year. I was reallly confused.”
Cenat, who is 24, blamed his age on not knowing who Wale was before stating that he liked his music.
“I hope he didn’t take my interaction personal,” he wrote. “How can you blame me for just being who I am? I’m young. Matter of fact, let me do my research,” he said before playing his music.”
He continued, “What the fuck! See! N*gga, I know this song! This shit is a banger. This shit is a fucking classic. I know this song, but when did this shit come out? 2011? I was nine years old.”