Teyana Taylor and Clipse were the big winners at the 2026 BET Awards, which were held at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on Sunday (June 28). The show, hosted by Druski, aired live on BET. Both artists won three awards on the night. Kendrick Lamar and Kehlani were runners-up in the winners tally, with two wins each.
In addition to winning three competitive awards – best actress, video director of the year and the fashion vanguard award – Taylor received the Icon of the Year award, one of three honorary awards presented on the night. Taylor has had a year for the record books, winning a Golden Globe and receiving an Oscar nomination for One Battle After Another, and receiving a Grammy nomination for best R&B album for Escape Room.
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Clipse won album of the year for Let God Sort ’Em Out, best group and best collaboration for “Chains & Whips,” their pairing with Lamar. Let God Sort ’Em Out was nominated for album of the year and best rap album at the Grammy Awards in February but didn’t win in either category.
Lamar also won best male hip-hop artist for a record ninth time. He has won in that category more often than the next two most frequent winners combined. (That’s Drake with four awards and Ye, the former Kanye West, with three.)
Kehlani won best female R&B/pop artist for the first time, beating, among others, SZA, who won in the category the last three years. Kehlani also won video of the year for “Folded.” Kehlani won two Grammys in February: best R&B song and best R&B performance, both for her soulful ballad “Folded.”
Olivia Dean, who won best new artist at the Grammys, also won in that category here. She’s the fifth artist to take the best new artist prize at both shows, following Alicia Keys, John Legend, Sam Smith and Chance the Rapper.
Cardi B won best female hip-hop artist. It’s her third win in the category; her first since she won back-to-back awards in 2018-19.
Leon Thomas won best male R&B/pop artist for the first time, beating, among others, three repeat past winners in this category: Chris Brown, who has won a record eight times; Usher, who has won five times; and Bruno Mars, who has won three times. Thomas won two Grammys in February: best R&B album for Mutt and best traditional R&B performance for “Vibes Don’t Lie.”
Ryan Coogler’s Sinners won best movie. The film received a record 16 Oscar nominations, but lost the top award, best picture, to One Battle After Another. Sinners is the third Coogler film to win best movie at the BET Awards, following Black Panther and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. No other director has had more than two best movie winners.
Michael B. Jordan, who won an Oscar for best lead actor for Sinners, also won best actor here. It’s his fourth win in that category at the BET Awards, which puts him just one award behind category leader Denzel Washington.
In addition to Taylor, two other groundbreaking women received special awards. Ms. Lauryn Hill was honored with the inaugural Living Legend Icon Award. Legendary music executive Sylvia Rhone was named the recipient of the Ultimate Icon Award.
Jazzy’s World TV won the rising star award. That’s the stage name of Jazlyn Guerra, 16, a fast-rising journalist who conducts unstructured interviews of celebrities. Raised in New York City, she first gained recognition for her interview with Jay-Z in 2021. Past winners in the category include Keke Palmer, Jaden & Willow Smith and Blue Ivy Carter.
Here’s the complete list of nominees for the 2026 BET Awards, with winners marked. They are divided into Music, General, Film/TV and Sports categories. They are followed by lists of winners by the number of awards won, and then everyone who went home empty-handed, despite three nominations or more.
