The Best and Worst BET Awards Moments of All Time
On Sunday, June 28, the 2026 BET Awards will go down in Los Angeles! From folks like Teyana Taylor, Lauryn Hill, Cardi B, Don Toliver, and more, you can expect the annual affair to be a star-studded event filled with unforgettable moments.
That’s why we thought we’d take a trip down memory lane to look back at some of the best and worst moments of culture’s biggest night. Keep reading for more.
BEST: Michael Jackson and James Brown Getting Down
Why It’s the Best: A live James Brown performance is one thing, but having his protégé, the one who learned so much from him, present him with a Lifetime Achievement Award made 2003 such a special year.
RELATED: BET Awards Red Carpet Train Wrecks We Will Never Forget
WORST: Giveon and the Non-Sound Check
this was funny asf ngl. im sorry to giveon but lmao seeing him struggling to pull out that lil note had me yelling and screaming
#BETAwards pic.twitter.com/bGsXpwEuoM
— Cuff it (@bigUrsular) June 27, 2022
Why It’s the Worst: Listen, we love Giveon! But this poor baby needed the sound system in his ear to work, because his singing was ALL OFF at the 2022 BET Awards.
BEST: Prince’s Tribute
Why It’s the Best: While some may not have been a fan of Alicia Keys’ contributions to this Prince tribute at the 2010 BET Awards, the night was saved thanks to Esperanza Spalding, Janelle Monae, and Patti LaBelle, who literally kicked off her shoes and made Prince laugh!
BEST: Destiny’s Child “Cater 2 U” Performance
Why It’s the Best: If you remember any BET Awards performance from the 2005 show, it’s Destiny’s Child’s super sultry lap dances to “Cater 2 U.” Just press play and tell us you don’t love it!
WORST: The “Saturday Love” That We Wanted to Break Up With
Why It’s the Worst: Although we’ll always love Cherrelle & Alexander O’Neal for giving us “Saturday Love,” we didn’t love their performance of the song during the 2011 BET Awards. It lowkey felt like watching your drunk aunt and uncle sing and dance at the function.
WORST: Ray J Being…Ray J
Why It’s The Worst: We expect Ray J to be Ray J at this point, but eating ramen noodles in the audience at a prestigious awards show? That’s low even for him.
BEST: Mary J. Blige Bringing Down the House and Turning Us Up
Why It’s the Best: The 2019 show was right before we entered the turmoil of 2020, and Lord knows we needed the right energy to keep the hateration and holleration at bay (or, at least, some of it). Thankfully, we got that with Mary J Blige’s Lifetime Achievement Award performance at the BET Awards that year.
WORST: Kanye’s Surprise and Awkward Pop Out
Why It’s the Worst: In 2022, we still had questions about life and how we would get through the COVID-19 pandemic. What we didn’t know was that Ye, f.k.a. Kanye West, would give us some answer when he randomly showed up, literally covered from head to toe. What made things even weirder was the fact that he sounded extremely muffled and generally appeared as if he didn’t want to be here.
BEST: D’Angelo Gracing Us With His Presence
Why It’s the Best: Do we really need to explain this one? It was beyond rare for D’Angelo to pop out anywhere, so to see him singing at the 2012 BET Awards was something completely out of this world.
WORST: Sean “Diddy” Combs Falling Onstage
Why It’s the Worst: Imagine trying to celebrate your record label’s 20th anniversary just to fall through the stage while literally “Didd-bopping” all over. The worst worst part? Diddy fell twice on this same night!
WORST: “I’m Rick James, B*tch!”
Why It’s the Worst: Though hearing Rick James cuss somebody out on a public platform is hilarious in hindsight, it was not a good look for him or the show.
BEST: Jesse Williams’ Humanitarian Award Acceptance Speech
Why It’s the Best: We were dealt a truly wild hand in 2020, but if there was one bright spot, it was Jesse Williams’ rousing and inspiring speech at the awards show that year. His words never get old!
BEST: The New Edition Tribute
Why It’s the Best: This highly anticipated New Edition performance came just after the major success of “The New Edition Story,” and it was every bit as nostalgic as you would expect
