--- title: BET, Questlove React To Madonna's Prince Billboard Tribute description: Madonna's Prince tribute at the Billboard Music Awards drew mixed reactions from everyone from presenter Questlove to BET. canonical: https://time.com/4344679/madonna-prince-billboard-music-awards-reactions/ author: Cady Lang article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-05-23T15:29:04.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:32:38.021Z og:title: Madonna's Billboard Prince Tribute Drew Some Intense Shade og:description: From Questlove to BET og:url: https://time.com/4344679/madonna-prince-billboard-music-awards-reactions/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta0c54044d315c0f0/698894550b72e369c86e97f2/madonna-prince-tribute-billboard-awards.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2000 og:image:height: 1125 og:image:alt: 2016 Billboard Music Awards - Show og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Madonna's Billboard Prince Tribute Drew Some Intense Shade twitter:description: From Questlove to BET twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta0c54044d315c0f0/698894550b72e369c86e97f2/madonna-prince-tribute-billboard-awards.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Madonna's Billboard Music Awards Prince Tribute Drew Mixed Reactions  by [Cady Lang](https://time.com/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang May 23, 2016 3:29 PM UTC  Madonna performs a tribute to Prince onstage during the 2016 Billboard Music Awards on May 22, 2016. Madonna performs a tribute to Prince onstage during the 2016 Billboard Music Awards on May 22, 2016.Kevin Winter—Getty Images  by [Cady Lang](https://time.com/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang May 23, 2016 3:29 PM UTC When it was announced that Madonna [would be performing a tribute to Prince](http://time.com/4326754/madonna-prince-tribute-2016-billboard-awards/) at the 2016 Billboard Music Awards, there was no shortage of controversy about whether or not the singer was a fitting choice to honor [the late Purple One](http://time.com/4303801/prince-dead-darling-nikki-parental-advisory/). While Madge was a [colleague and friend](http://time.com/4303801/prince-dead-darling-nikki-parental-advisory/) of the legendary artist, some wondered if she had the musical chops to pay homage to Prince. So it comes as no surprise that her performance of “Nothing Compares 2 U” and “Purple Rain” on Sunday night (which included an introduction by Questlove and a surprise appearance with [Stevie Wonder](http://time.com/4322102/stevie-wonder-purple-rain-prince-tribute-video/)) drew mixed reactions from some pretty high-profile viewers on social media. BET wasted no time in throwing some well-placed shade at the Billboard performance — and also resourcefully used it as a plug for its own upcoming tribute. > [](https://twitter.com/BET/status/734584199546589184) And Miami Heat player Dwayne Wade ([who Prince once said was his favorite basketball player](http://time.com/4316831/dwayne-wade-prince-basketball-player/)) took to Twitter to let his followers know he was underwhelmed. > [](https://twitter.com/DwyaneWade/status/734580325007917056) However, presenter Questlove defended Billboard’s choice of Madonna and reminded viewers that the tribute was about honoring the memory of the Purple One. > [](https://twitter.com/questlove/status/734599544189636609) > [](https://twitter.com/questlove/status/734599901435301890) See a clip of Madonna and Stevie Wonder’s Billboard tribute to Prince below. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4344679/madonna-prince-billboard-music-awards-reactions/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4344679/madonna-prince-billboard-music-awards-reactions/"},"headline":"Madonna's Billboard Music Awards Prince Tribute Drew Mixed Reactions","datePublished":"2016-05-23T15:29:04.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:32:38.021Z","description":"From Questlove to BET","url":"https://time.com/4344679/madonna-prince-billboard-music-awards-reactions/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Music","Madonna","Prince"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta0c54044d315c0f0/698894550b72e369c86e97f2/madonna-prince-tribute-billboard-awards.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Cady Lang","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/cady-lang/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta0c54044d315c0f0/698894550b72e369c86e97f2/madonna-prince-tribute-billboard-awards.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"2016 Billboard Music Awards - Show","caption":"Madonna performs a tribute to Prince onstage during the 2016 Billboard Music Awards on May 22, 2016.","creditText":"Kevin Winter—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4344679/madonna-prince-billboard-music-awards-reactions/","name":"Madonna's Billboard Music Awards Prince Tribute Drew Mixed Reactions"}}]}] ```