The Best, Worst and Most Oops Moments of the 2026 BET Awards

The 2026 BET Awards brought together icons for a night to remember.

On June 28, Culture’s Biggest Night saw stars unite to honor legends, from the late D’Angelo to the ever-fabulous Lauryn Hill. On top of the show-stopping tributes, hitmakers like Cardi B, RAYE and more took the stage to deliver performances that will go down in BET history, and Janet Jackson gave viewers (and Teyana Taylor) an unforgettable surprise.

Ahead, look back on the standout highlights and lowlights from the three-hour ceremony.

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Best Family Night

The 2026 BET Awards saw several stars’ children taking the stage with and for their parents.

At the top of the night, Jamie Foxx introduced Kehlani‘s performance by singing his own rendition of her hit “Folded,” joined by an extra special guest on guitar: his teenage daughter Anelise!

In an emotional tribute to R&B icon D’Angelo, the late singer’s three children, Michael, Imani and Morocco Archer, introduced his band The Vanguard.

Before Lauryn Hill accepted the inaugural Living Legend Icon Award, three of her children — Selah, Zion and YG Marley — participated in a star-studded medley in honor of their legendary mom.

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Best Vocals of the Night: RAYE’s 17-Second Note

In her debut BET Awards performance, RAYE brought down the house with her ballad “Nightingale Lane,” off her latest studio album This Music May Contain Hope. By the end of the song, which featured vocal acrobatics from opera to full belts, the entire audience was in awe and on their feet. Queen Latifah, Teyana Taylor, Keke Palmer (who verbally expressed her approval on camera) and more gave their stamp of approval.

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Oops: Janet Jackson Can’t See the Teleprompter

Naturally, the whole crowd got up to welcome the legendary Janet Jackson as she arrived to present Icon of the Year to Teyana Taylor. The standing ovation lasted so long that the singer had to ask the audience to sit for her to see the teleprompter.

“I’m so sorry,” Jackson said in her trademark soft tone, “but all of you in the back, you’re going to have to sit down because I can’t see the font.”

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Best Fangirl Moment: Teyana Taylor with Janet Jackson

Taylor, who has shown her admiration for Jackson (and recreated her iconic looks for PEOPLE), burst into tears as soon as the “Rhythm Nation” singer walked out to present her with the Icon of the Year award. On stage, the One Battle After Another actress was just as excited, running over to hug Jackson.

“Oh my God, bitch, I’m gagging,” said a starstruck Taylor in her acceptance speech. “They did not tell me Janet was coming! And it’s so crazy because when Kehlani said, ‘Janet’s here,’ I said, ‘Bitch, is that the surprise?’ I wasn’t sure!”

The Golden Globe winner continued to gush over her “biggest inspiration,” thanking her for “every text, every hug, every talk.”

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Oops, Should Keke Palmer Be Hosting?

Druski had done a decent job hosting, for the most part. He opened the show with a recreation of his viral megachurch skit and got the crowd singing along to “Can We Talk” by Tevin Campbell, but in one fell swoop, Keke Palmer snatched the mic — literally and figuratively — from his hands.

“This should’ve been my gig!” she joked during a bit with Druski. “This is the problem with BET. They be tripping, because this should’ve been me.”

The I Love Boosters star then smoothly transitioned into introducing Cardi B’s performance, and honestly, she has us inclined to agree.

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Prettiest and Pettiest: Cardi B

Instead of a red carpet appearance, Cardi B rocked a rare red hairstyle for a performance of hits from her sophomore album Am I the Drama? She closed out the four-song medley with the live TV debut of her diss track “Pretty & Petty,” taking aim at fellow rapper BIA with the line “Name five BIA songs gun pointed to your head.” The Grammy winner also found time to flex her six BET trophies — which she made seven by the end of the night.

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Worst Pair to Play Off: SZA and Doechii

Accepting the BET Her Award for their collaboration “Girl, Get Up,” SZA and Doechii lauded each other as friends and collaborators, and the lovefest went on for so long that a saxophonist tried playing them off the stage. The duo wasn’t having any of it, though, and Doechii declared, “I’m gonna keep my time!”

“I just wanna say, new music is coming soon, and to all the haters that have something to say about me, you better be ready for me to pop back out because I’m coming with a new single and it’s finna kill everybody,” the Alligator Bites Never Heal rapper announced. “Don’t ever play with me!”

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Oops: Don’t Forget Your Hardware, Cardi!

Cardi handed off her Best Female Hip Hop Artist trophy to presenters Luke James and Jacob Latimore. The rapper, who did a quick change into a sleek black dress, delivered a succinct speech and made her way off stage — but she forgot to take the prize she came up for.

Timeless Tunes by Ms. Lauryn Hill

The star-studded tribute for Ms. Lauryn Hill — featuring Doechii, SZA, Doja Cat, Lizzo, Common, Queen Latifah and more — is your annual reminder of how well her catalog holds up over two decades since her iconic LP The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. They could have performed every song in her discography, and the crowd would have known every single word.

If the medley wasn’t enough of a treat, Hill closed out the lengthy show with another hit, “Ex-Factor,” and “Everything Is Everything.”

In good news, the 2026 show did not run as long as last year’s edition, which went more than an hour over its allotted time slot.

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