Iconic rapper Busta Rhymes caused controversy when he appeared on a float during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade to perform some of his greatest hits alongside the Ninja Turtles
Busta Rhymes has been slammed for his performance after he appeared on the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
The iconic event features 28 floats which make their way through New York City to celebrate the holiday and this year’s parade saw rap legend Busta, 53, take to the stage to perform for onlookers. But things didn’t go to plan for the ’90s icon, real name Trevor Tahiem Smith Jr.
He was part of the World of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Chocolate Factory float from Nickelodeon and Paramount, that was decorated with graffiti and giant pizza slices. Busta was seen dancing and rapping alongside life-sized Ninja Turtles as the float passed the waiting crowds who had gathered to see the 99th annual parade.
READ MORE: Post Malone’s net worth as he’s set to perform at Cowboys v Chiefs Thanksgiving halftime showREAD MORE: Today’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade coverage slammed as viewers hit out at producers for one reason
However, many watching his performance noticed things seemed a little off and that he appeared to be finding it difficult to keep up with the pace of his songs, causing fans to speculate that he may have been lip-syncing. They then took to social media to call him out for the performance.
Busta performed on the same float as the Ninja Turtles(Image: Getty Images)
One viewer wrote on X, “Busta Rhymes doing that one verse is funny enough but also lip syncing it for the parade is crazy.” A second said, “Busta Rhymes can’t even keep up with the lip sync at Macy’s Parade.”
A third sarcastically noted, “I really am so grateful for Busta Rhymes lip synching on a float with the Ninja Turtles… this is what I need in life.” A fourth social media user added, “Busta Rhymes lip syncing was a bad call.”
A fifth observed, “Busta Rhymes just got caught lip synching, mic wasn’t by his mouth for one of the lines.”
The rapper was accused of lip-syncing(Image: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images)
Despite his critics, many more fans appeared to be delighted by his collaboration with the Ninja Turtles. One shared, “Where were you when the Busta Rhymes and the Ninja Turtles collab dropped on the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade.”
Another joked, “Busta Rhymes: the official rapper of the holiday season.” A third enthused, “Busta Rhymes TMNT float back around – that was the best one so far.”
A fourth quipped, “This was actually just a Busta Rhymes concert interrupted by a parade.” Busta was joined at the parade by other iconic R&B performers including Lil Jon, Teyana Taylor, Ciara and Kool & the Gang.
Busta was still a hit with fans despite the critcism(Image: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images)
Viewers were also treated to appearances from Wicked star Cynthia Erivo, Lainey Wilson and stars from hit Netflix movie KPop Demon Hunters. The dispplay also featured 34 balloons including new additions Buzz Lightyear from Toy Story and Nintendo’s Super Mario.
Fans were also delighted to see Hoda Kotb make a return to screens after she quit the Today Show back in January. Hoda, 61, made a special appearance for the live coverage of the parade on NBC alongside former co-anchors Savannah Guthrie and Al Roker.
The rapper performed some of his biggest hits(Image: Getty Images)
Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade made it’s debut in 1924, designed to promote the newly-opened toy department at Macy’s New York City store. At the time employees of the department store paraded through the streets of New York dressed in extravagant costumes.
The parade had floats pulled by horses and even saw animals including elephants, monkeys, camels, tigers and bears take part on loan from the Central Park Zoo. The event was a huge success with 250,000 people attending, sparking the annual tradition.
Click here to follow the Mirror US on Google News to stay up to date with all the latest news, sports, and entertainment stories.
Sign up to our FREE Entertainment newsletter and get the top showbiz stories to your inbox
ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER: Sign up here to get the latest celeb gossip, plus all the biggest film and TV news from the Mirror US straight to your inbox with our FREE newsletter.