Usher Slammed For Publicly Discussing Co-Parenting Issues With Ex-Wife Tameka Foster: 'Public Manipulation Tactic'

Usher drew criticism for airing his private matters with his ex-wife Tameka Foster and was accused of trying to paint her as a bad co-parent during his speech at the 2024 BET Awards Sunday night.

While accepting the lifetime achievement award, Usher gave a nearly 15-minute speech in which he discussed fatherhood and his family.

While talking about the impact of his dad, Usher Raymond III, abandoning him and his family, the "Yeah!" hitmaker urged other fathers to be present in their children's lives.

"This is the year of the father, where all fathers gotta stand up for their sons and daughters," the singer said, as seen in a video of his speech taken by an audience member and shared on social media.

At one point, Usher said that he forgives his naysayers and that he's "turning a new leaf."

Usher -- who shares sons Usher V, 16, and Naviyd, 15, with Foster -- went on to discuss getting along with a co-parent and directly address his ex-wife.

"We gotta be cool for the sake of the kids," he added. "I look at Swizz Beatz and his ex-wife [Mashonda] and Alicia Keys and the fact that they've managed to pull things together."

Usher then turned to the direction where Foster was seated and added, "I'm trying, Tameka. First step, get it right."

Some viewers took issue with Usher's mention of Foster and their family matters during a televised event and flocked to X, formerly Twitter, to share their two cents.

"I don't like this," one person commented. "A star of his magnitude mentioning his ex-wife in this light can have the masses assuming she's the problem or tough to parent with. He could've kept this in the group chat."

"We didn't need that. Usher, you too big of a star to be airing out your laundry on BET," another tweeted.

Some X users suggested that Usher indirectly admitted that he was the bad co-parent but still did not approve of him airing their issues on TV.

"Although this was not the place, I didn't take his comment to think that she is the problem. I took this as HE is the problem, and a public manipulation tactic for her to give him grace," one person opined.

"It comes off as he is the problem or is the cause of the unhealthy coparenting dynamic. Not her," a second user suggested.

A third comment claimed, "All the baby mamas in the world watching this know that whatever he did it was BADDDD. Tameka got the public apology and rolled her eyes hearing it. [D]on't ask me how I know, I just know."

Usher and Foster divorced in 2009 after two years of marriage. The exes engaged in a heated custody battle that lasted more than three years and concluded with the singer getting primary custody of their two boys.

In February, Usher admitted to People that he and Foster "have more difficult days than we have great ones" as they co-parent their boys but added that they were doing their "best."

Foster later told the same outlet that co-parenting with her ex-husband has been "going pretty smoothly."

"It's great. Yeah, everything is great," she shared. "We're friends, and the kids are at an age now where they can kind of say where they want to be as far as, 'Hey I want to be at Dad's. I want to go to Mom's.'"

Usher is now married to Jennifer Goicoechea.

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Usher, Tameka foster