\t\t\t\t\t0<\/p>\n
The 2026 BET Awards delivered a night packed with emotional tributes, memorable moments and iconic performances. Held at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on June 28 and hosted by comedian Druski, the ceremony celebrated some of the biggest names in music and entertainment while also honouring legendary figures.<\/p>\n
From Lauryn Hill receiving the Living Legend Icon Award to an emotional tribute for the late D\u2019Angelo, the evening had both celebration and emotional moments. Cardi B added another trophy to her collection while Teyana Taylor emerged as one of the night\u2019s biggest winners after receiving a special honour from none other than Janet Jackson.<\/p>\n
Here are five of the biggest highlights from the 2026 BET Awards.<\/p>\n
\n You Might Be Interested In<\/p>\n
Lauryn Hill Receives Living Legend Tribute<\/p>\n
One of the most talked-about moments of the evening was the tribute to Lauryn Hill, who received the Living Legend Icon Award. A lineup of performers celebrated her groundbreaking career with renditions of classics including Ready or Not, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, Superstar, Doo Wop (That Thing) and Lost One.<\/p>\n
Hill watched from the audience, singing along and soaking in the moment. The tribute ended with Queen Latifah declaring, \u201cRespect the queen of [New] Jersey.\u201d<\/p>\n
D\u2019Angelo\u2019s Children\u2019s Emotional Tribute\u00a0<\/p>\n
The ceremony also paid tribute to the late D\u2019Angelo, who passed away in October following a battle with pancreatic cancer.\u00a0His children\u2014Michael Archer Jr., Imani and Morocco took the stage to introduce the performance.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo the world, he was D\u2019Angelo. To us, he was just Dad,\u201d Imani said, setting the tone for one of the most emotional segments of the night.\u00a0The tribute featured members of D\u2019Angelo\u2019s longtime band The Vanguard alongside artists including Ari Lennox, RAYE, George Clinton, BJ the Chicago Kid and Durand Bernarr.<\/p>\n
Cardi B Celebrates A Major Victory<\/p>\n
Cardi B walked away with the Best Female Hip-Hop Artist award and used her acceptance speech to reflect on her recent journey.<\/p>\n
\u201cThree babies later, I put the album out, honey. Yes. I overcame my fear, my anxiety and I put it out,\u201d she said while accepting the award.\u00a0She added, \u201cI love my babies. I love Jesus. Thank you so much.\u201d<\/p>\n
The rapper also delivered one of the night\u2019s most energetic performances, performing tracks from Am I the Drama? while dancing over a roulette-table-inspired stage setup.<\/p>\n
Janet Jackson Surprises Teyana Taylor\u00a0<\/p>\n
A standout moment came when Janet Jackson appeared on stage to present Teyana Taylor with the Icon of the Year Award.\u00a0Taylor appeared visibly emotional as Jackson praised her remarkable year.<\/p>\n
\u201cTeyana Taylor, what a year it\u2019s been for you,\u201d Jackson said. She added,\u00a0\u201cIt seems like only yesterday a rose from Harlem grew out of the concrete and blossomed into our Icon of the Year.\u201d<\/p>\n
The music legend also commended Taylor\u2019s work ethic, artistic achievements and dedication to her family.<\/p>\n
Teyana Taylor Dominates The Night<\/p>\n
Beyond receiving the Icon of the Year Award, Teyana Taylor had one of the most successful nights at the BET Awards.\u00a0The star also won Fashion Vanguard, Video Director of the Year and Best Actress, making her one of the ceremony\u2019s biggest winners.<\/p>\n
Fresh off a Golden Globe win, an Oscar nomination and a Grammy-nominated album, Taylor\u2019s BET Awards success further cemented what has already been a career-defining year.<\/p>\n
With emotional tributes, surprise appearances and major wins, the 2026 BET Awards once again proved why it remains one of the most anticipated celebrations in entertainment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"0 The 2026 BET Awards delivered a night packed with emotional tributes, memorable moments and iconic performances. Held…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":501004,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[249994,250197,60919,156,25386,139598,157,111,139,69,15661],"class_list":["post-501003","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-bet-awards-2026","tag-bet-awards-2026-highlights","tag-dangelo","tag-entertainment","tag-janet-jackson","tag-lauryn-hill","tag-music","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-teyana-taylor"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/501003","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=501003"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/501003\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/501004"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=501003"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=501003"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=501003"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}