Kai Cenat, Elliott Wilson Bury The Hatchet In Heartfelt Encounter At Grammys

Kai Cenat walked his first-ever Grammys red carpet this year and was nothing short of good vibes. However, at one point, Cenat had to get a bit serious when he ran into goated Hip-Hop journalist Elliott Wilson, whom he’s had a rift with in the past.

On Sunday (Feb. 2), the award-winning streamer was speaking with Complex’s Jordan Rose, when he noticed Wilson passing by. “You come here,” Cenat demanded ahead of Wilson jokingly saying “I love you” and “I don’t want no problems” with his hands up. As the journalism vet went in for a hug, Cenat cut their embrace short to address their past differences — and the entire encounter was livestreamed.

“You dissed my livestream, you hated on Nicki…” the 23-year-old continued, before Wilson jumped in with “I apologized to you and your family.” Standing strong, Cenat asserted, “You gotta stop doing that!” to which Wilson agreed he would. He also told the rising star that he’s “killing it,” leading Cenat to accept his apology.

The Mafiathon streamer then expressed to Wilson in a heartfelt spill that they shouldn’t “bring each other down” calling out how the older generation can “guide” the younger. “We’re just the young people just trying to do our thing and the more ya’ll help us out and we become one, the better we’ll be all together as a unit,” Cenat said.

In response, the 54-year-old admitted, “I’m older but you taught me a lesson,” before dubbing the encounter, “a real f**king moment.”

The friction between Cenat and Wilson dates back to January 2024, when the journalist posted a screenshot of Minaj twerking during her Twitch livestream with Cenat—captioning it “Hip Hop journalism.” The comment was widely perceived as a critique of the shift toward new media platforms, where artists increasingly engage with fans outside of traditional press.

At the time, Minaj swiftly fired back at Wilson claiming that he wasn’t “happy for a young black man like Kai” and couldn’t “get JAY-Z’s d**k out his mouth”—in reference to his longstanding music relationship with Hov.

However, Cenat took a calmer approach to Wilson’s Instagram post, saying: “The way I see it, people have been doing things the same way for years. When something new comes along, they don’t always understand it. Stuff like that doesn’t bother me because I know where I stand. I’m young, and I have a long journey ahead.”

Wilson, who initially defended his position by reaffirming his respect for Minaj as “the female rap [GOAT],” eventually softened his critique of streamers. “I apologize to KaiCenat his fam,” he wrote on X. “I was out of line and let my competitive nature get the best of me.”

He added, “Kai carved his own lane in the game, built a great platform and deserves respect. Salute the streamers and young creatives getting to the paper and pushing our culture forward.”

Cenat and Wilson’s face-to-face moment at the 67th Grammy Awards marked Cenat’s first attendance at the prestigious event. Tapped to livestream the carpet, Cenat had interesting encounters with Miley Cyrus, Cardi B, the CEO pf PacSun, Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, Muni Long, Will Smith, and more.