Lauryn Hill honored as Druski hosts BET Awards in Los Angeles
Lauryn Hill took BET’s Living Legend Icon Award as Druski led the 25th BET Awards from Los Angeles, with the red carpet mixing legacy stars and new-era names.
Lauryn Hill was honored with BET’s Living Legend Icon Award as Druski hosted the 2026 BET Awards from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, a broadcast that marked the 25th year of the show on air. The ceremony aired live Sunday, June 28, with the red carpet pre-show starting at 5:30 p.m. ET and the main telecast set for 8 p.m. ET/PT on BET, with simulcast availability on BET Network, YouTubeTV, Hulu+ Live and Fubo.
Druski’s role carried its own milestone. BET announced him as host on April 30 and said the 31-year-old was the youngest host in BET Awards history and the first comedian whose fame was built entirely on the internet to front the show. The choice fit a ceremony that has increasingly treated online celebrity as part of the mainstream Black entertainment pipeline, not a side channel to it.
Lauryn Hill’s honor gave the night its clearest anchor in Black cultural lineage. BET announced on June 4 that Hill would receive the Sprite-sponsored Living Legend Icon Award, setting up the awards show’s most legacy-driven moment even before the red carpet began. The mix of tribute and new-school energy defined the evening, with coverage of arrivals focusing on Cardi B, Keke Palmer, Doechii, Jaafar Jackson, Queen Latifah, Bow Wow and Rocsi Diaz.
That red-carpet blend also showed how BET positions style as part of the show’s cultural authority. The biggest looks were not treated as isolated fashion moments but as signals of who is shaping Black pop culture in 2026, from heritage references to star branding that crosses music, television and social media. Janet Jackson’s tribute look and Eva Marcille’s appearance added to a field that paired established icons with newer voices, underscoring the franchise’s ability to fold multiple generations into one televised frame.
The ceremony arrived after a busy lead-up. BET Experience 2026 ran from June 25 to June 27, and the network announced its first wave of performers on June 17, including Cardi B, Doechii, Jill Scott, Queen Latifah and Tems. It later expanded the roster to include Common, Kehlani, Rick Ross, T.I., Don Toliver, French Montana, Max B, The War and Treaty and kwn. Nominations, announced on May 19, put Cardi B in front with six, followed by Kendrick Lamar and Mariah the Scientist with five each, while Doechii, Doja Cat, Clipse, Teyana Taylor, Olivia Dean and Latto each earned four.
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