Stars at the 2022 BET Awards didn’t shy away from addressing the recent Supreme Court decision to reverse the Roe v. Wade ruling at Sunday night’s ceremony.
The show kicked off with host Taraji P. Henson, presenter Janelle Monáe and best female R&B/pop artist winner Jazmine Sullivan all criticizing the decision within the first 17 minutes of the show.
“Guns have more rights than a woman,” Henson said in her monologue. “It’s a sad day in America. A weapon that can take lives has more power than woman who can give life — if she chooses to.”
Monáe gave the middle finger and said, “Fuck you, Supreme Court” (the swear word was censored, but the gesture was not), while Sullivan called on males to support females in fighting for their rights.
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Best new artist winner Latto later joined the criticism against the Supreme Court.
Other winners included Marsai Martin with the YoungStars Award — during her speech, she encouraged young people to use their voice to speak out. The Weeknd (who was not present) won best male R&B/pop artist and Zendaya (also not present) won best actress for her work in both Euphoria and Spider-Man: No Way Home.
BET Awards veteran Mary J. Blige, who three years ago received the lifetime achievement award during the show, won the BET Her award for Good Morning Gorgeous. In her speech, Blige reflected on her career and all the honors she’s won over the years, saying she doesn’t take anything for granted and isn’t ready to quit yet. “This is only the beginning for me,” she said.
Several awards were not presented on the air, including Will Smith named best actor for King Richard, which also was named best movie, a few months after Smith got banned from the Oscars for 10 years after slapping Chris Rock onstage. Megan Thee Stallion and Kendrick Lamar were named best female and male hip-hop artist, respectively, while An Evening With Silk Sonic was named album of the year.
Heading into the show, Doja Cat led the nominees with six noms, but wound up leaving empty-handed Sunday night.
In addition, Sean “Diddy” Combs was honored with the lifetime achievement award at the show, presented by Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds and Kanye “Ye” West. He also took the stage for a tribute performance featuring Mary J. Blige, Jodeci, Nas, Lil’ Kim, Busta Rhymes, The Lox, Bryson Tiller, Faith Evans and The Maverick City Choir.
BET’s Connie Orlando oversaw the show, along with Jamal Noisette. Jesse Collins Entertainment is the production company with Jesse Collins, Dionne Harmon and Jeannae Rouzan-Clay serving as executive producers.
A full list of winners follows. Check out photos of the red carpet here.
Best Female R&B/Pop Artist
ARI LENNOX
CHLÖE
DOJA CAT
H.E.R.
JAZMINE SULLIVAN (WINNER)
MARY J. BLIGE
SUMMER WALKER
Best Male R&B/Pop Artist
BLXST
CHRIS BROWN
GIVĒON
LUCKY DAYE
THE WEEKND (WINNER)
WIZKID
YUNG BLEU
Best Group
BRUNO MARS, ANDERSON .PAAK, SILK SONIC (WINNER)
CHLÖE X HALLE
CITY GIRLS
LIL BABY & LIL DURK
MIGOS
YOUNG DOLPH & KEY GLOCK
Best Collaboration
ESSENCE – WIZKID FEAT. JUSTIN BIEBER & TEMS (WINNER)
EVERY CHANCE I GET – DJ KHALED FEAT. LIL BABY & LIL DURK
FAMILY TIES – BABY KEEM & KENDRICK LAMAR
KISS ME MORE – DOJA CAT FEAT. SZA
WAY 2 SEXY – DRAKE FEAT. FUTURE & YOUNG THUG
WHOLE LOTTA MONEY (REMIX) – BIA FEAT. NICKI MINAJ
Best Female Hip Hop Artist
CARDI B
DOJA CAT
LATTO
MEGAN THEE STALLION (WINNER)
NICKI MINAJ
SAWEETIE
Best Male Hip Hop Artist
DRAKE
FUTURE
J. COLE
JACK HARLOW
KANYE WEST
KENDRICK LAMAR (WINNER)
LIL BABY
Video of the Year
FAMILY TIES, BABY KEEM & KENDRICK LAMAR (WINNER)
HAVE MERCY, CHLÖE
KISS ME MORE, DOJA CAT FEAT. SZA
PRESSURE, ARI LENNOX
SMOKIN OUT THE WINDOW, BRUNO MARS, ANDERSON .PAAK, SILK SONIC
WAY 2 SEXY, DRAKE FEAT. FUTURE & YOUNG THUG
Video Director of the Year
ANDERSON .PAAK A.K.A. DIRECTOR .PAAK (WINNER)
BENNY BOOM
BEYONCÉ & DIKAYL RIMMASCH
DIRECTOR X
HYPE WILLIAMS
MISSY ELLIOTT
Best New Artist
BABY KEEM
BENNY THE BUTCHER
LATTO (WINNER)
MUNI LONG
TEMS
YUNG BLEU
Album of the Year
AN EVENING WITH SILK SONIC, BRUNO MARS, ANDERSON.PAAK, SILK SONIC (WINNER)
BACK OF MY MIND, H.E.R.
CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST, TYLER, THE CREATOR
CERTIFIED LOVER BOY ,DRAKE
DONDA, KANYE WEST
HEAUX TALES, MO’ TALES: THE DELUXE, JAZMINE SULLIVAN
PLANET HER, DOJA CAT
Dr. Bobby Jones Best Gospel/Inspirational Award
ALL IN YOUR HANDS, MARVIN SAPP
COME TO LIFE, KANYE WEST
GRACE, KELLY PRICE
HALLELUJAH, FRED HAMMOND
HOLD US TOGETHER (HOPE MIX), H.E.R. & TAUREN WELLS
JIREH, ELEVATION WORSHIP & MAVERICK CITY MUSIC
WE WIN, LIL BABY X, KIRK FRANKLIN (WINNER)
BET Her
BEST OF ME (ORIGINALS), ALICIA KEYS
GOOD MORNING GORGEOUS, MARY J. BLIGE (WINNER)
HAVE MERCY, CHLÖE
PRESSURE, ARI LENNOX
ROSTER, JAZMINE SULLIVAN
UNLOYAL, SUMMER WALKER & ARI LENNOX
WOMAN, DOJA CAT
Best International Act
DAVE (UK)
DINOS (FRANCE)
FALLY IPUPA (DRC)
FIREBOY DML (NIGERIA)
LITTLE SIMZ (UK)
LUDMILLA (BRAZIL)
MAJOR LEAGUE DJZ (SOUTH AFRICA)
TAYC (FRANCE)
TEMS (NIGERIA) (WINNER)
Best Movie
CANDYMAN
KING RICHARD (WINNER)
RESPECT
SPACE JAM: A NEW LEGACY
SUMMER OF SOUL
THE HARDER THEY FALL
Best Actor
ADRIAN HOLMES, BEL AIR
ANTHONY ANDERSON, BLACK-ISH
DAMSON IDRIS, SNOWFALL
DENZEL WASHINGTON, THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH
FOREST WHITAKER, RESPECT | GODFATHER OF HARLEM
JABARI BANKS, BEL AIR
STERLING K. BROWN, THIS IS US
WILL SMITH, KING RICHARD (WINNER)
Best Actress
AUNJANUE ELLIS, KING RICHARD
COCO JONES, BEL AIR
ISSA RAE, INSECURE
JENNIFER HUDSON, RESPECT
MARY J. BLIGE, POWER BOOK II: GHOST
QUEEN LATIFAH, THE EQUALIZER
QUINTA BRUNSON, ABBOTT ELEMENTARY
REGINA KING, THE HARDER THEY FALL
ZENDAYA, EUPHORIA | SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME (WINNER)
YoungStars Award
AKIRA AKBAR
DEMI SINGLETON
MARSAI MARTIN (WINNER)
MILES BROWN
SANIYYA SIDNEY
STORM REID
Sportswoman of the Year Award
BRITTNEY GRINER
CANDACE PARKER
NAOMI OSAKA (WINNER)
SERENA WILLIAMS
SHA’CARRI RICHARDSON
SIMONE BILES
Sportsman of the Year Award
AARON DONALD
BUBBA WALLACE
GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPO
JA MORANT
LEBRON JAMES
STEPHEN CURRY (WINNER)
