Rapper Kendrick Lamar lands the biggest wins at the 2025 BET Awards
Kendrick Lamar was the top winner on Monday at the BET Awards, an awards ceremony honoring Black actors, singers and sports stars. The "30 For 30" rapper won the best male hip hop artist award, best album of the year as well as the video of the year award for 'Not Like Us."
The Reuters Daily Briefing newsletter provides all the news you need to start your day. Sign up here. Lamar and filmmaker Dave Free also took home the video director of the year award at the event, which was held at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles and broadcast on the BET cable channel. "BET has always made sure they're representing the culture right and always put me in the midst of the cycle of what we represent," Lamar said on stage when accepting his award.
Host comedian Kevin Hart opened the ceremony by recognizing the BET Awards' 25th anniversary and all of the "history that has been made" on the stage. The ceremony traversed the evolution of Black music, starting with a performance by R&B artist Ashanti that featured a compilation of songs, including her 2002 song "Foolish."
Additional performances included other 2000s songs "Ballin'" by Mustard, "1 Thing" by Amerie and "Like You" by Bow Wow. Hart led with jokes while also highlighting the BET Ultimate Icon Award winners of the night, including Kirk Franklin, Mariah Carey, Jamie Foxx and Snoop Dogg.
The special award was given to those that have paid homage to music, entertainment, advocacy and community impact. Presented by Stevie Wonder, Foxx accepted his award and reflected on his recovery journey after having a stroke in 2023.
"I gotta be honest, when I saw the in memoriam, I was like, 'Man, that could have been me'," he said. Another honor included the best female hip hop artist award for rising rapper Doechii.
"Trump is using military forces to stop protest," Doechii said in her acceptance speech, addressing the anti-ICE protests in Los Angeles, where the National Guard and U.S. Marines are being deployed. "I want y'all to consider what kind of government it appears to be, when every time we exercise our democratic rights to protest, the military is deployed against us," she added.--AFP
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Arab Times
3 days ago
- Arab Times
Tyler Perry sued by actor on 'The Oval' for harassment
LOS ANGELES, June 18, (AP): An actor who worked on the Tyler Perry-created TV drama "The Oval' has filed a lawsuit alleging Perry leveraged his industry power to repeatedly sexually assault and harass him while keeping him quiet. The lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court by actor Derek Dixon, who appeared on 85 episodes of the BET series, seeks at least $260 million in damages. "Mr. Perry took his success and power and used his considerable influence in the entertainment industry to create a coercive, sexually exploitative dynamic with Mr. Dixon - initially promising him career advancement and creative opportunities, such as producing his pilot and casting him in his show, only to subject him to escalating sexual harassment, assault and battery, and professional retaliation,' the lawsuit says. The lawsuit was filed Friday and first reported Tuesday by TMZ. Perry's attorney, Matthew Boyd, said its allegations are false. "This is an individual who got close to Tyler Perry for what now appears to be nothing more than setting up a scam,' Boyd said in a statement Tuesday. "But Tyler will not be shaken down, and we are confident these fabricated claims of harassment will fail.' The lawsuit says that Perry first noticed Dixon in 2019 when Dixon was part of the event staff at a Perry party, and later offered an audition. Dixon would first appear in a small role on the Perry series "Ruthless" before getting the bigger role on the political drama "The Oval.' Perry soon began sending unwanted sexual text messages to Dixon, according to the lawsuit, which includes screenshots of several of them. "What's it going to take for you to have guiltless sex?' one of the messages says. The lawsuit says Perry offered Dixon an increasingly prominent role on the show as his sexual advances became more aggressive. The actor says he tried to remain friendly while maintaining boundaries. "Dixon did his best to tiptoe around Mr. Perry's sexual aggression while keeping on Mr. Perry's good side,' the lawsuit says. "Mr. Perry made it clear to Dixon that if Dixon ignored Perry or failed to engage with the sexual innuendoes, Dixon's character would 'die.'' The lawsuit says Perry eventually sexually assaulted Dixon on "multiple occasions," including an instance where he "forcibly pulled off Mr. Dixon's clothing, groped his buttocks, and attempted to force himself on Dixon." Dixon clearly told Perry "No,' but was initially ignored until he was able to de-escalate the situation and change the subject, according to the lawsuit. The following day, Perry apologized, and told Dixon he would work with Dixon on a TV pilot Dixon was seeking to produce. Dixon later received a raise that the lawsuit suggests was part of an attempt to keep him quiet. He said the fear of his character dying kept him quiet as intended. Perry also produced and bought the rights to the pilot, called "Losing It,' but the lawsuit alleges Perry had no intention of selling the show and was using it only for leverage over Dixon. The lawsuit describes several other assaults, including one where Dixon was staying in a guest room of Perry's house when Perry climbed into bed with him uninvited and began groping him, the lawsuit alleges. Dixon would eventually move from Atlanta, home to Perry's production studio, to Los Angeles to put distance between the two of them. Dixon in 2024 filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and when that didn't result in any action from the show's producers, he quit. The Associated Press does not typically name people who say they have been sexually abused unless they come forward publicly as Dixon has. "The Oval' is one of many television series executive produced by, written by, and directed by the 55-year-old Perry, who first became known as creator and star of the "Madea' films and has since built a major production empire in TV and movies. As an actor he has also appeared in the films "Gone Girl' and "Don't Look Up.'
Arab Times
7 days ago
- Arab Times
Ananda Lewis, who publicly shared breast cancer journey, dies at 52
LOS ANGELES, June 14, (AP): Ananda Lewis, the former MTV and BET host who became a beloved television personality in the 1990s with her warmth and authenticity, has died. She was 52. Her sister, Lakshmi Emory, confirmed Lewis' death in a Facebook post Wednesday. Lewis had been battling breast cancer. "She's free, and in His heavenly arms,' Emory wrote. "Lord, rest her soul.' Lewis, a San Diego native, made a name for herself as a host on BET's "Teen Summit,' which tackled issues facing Black youth and featured community leaders, entertainers, and politicians. She landed big interviews with Kobe Bryant, Tupac Shakur, and Louis Farrakhan and then-first lady Hillary Clinton, which earned her an NAACP Image Award. After a few seasons, Lewis took her talents over to MTV in 1997. She was a host and veejay on "MTV Live.' "Hot Zone' and "Total Request Live," a daily top 10 video countdown show. Lewis told The Associated Press that she felt some backlash after moving from BET to MTV. "I wouldn't say in a strong way because I think most people who were in my fan base at 'Teen Summit' understand that growth is necessary,' she said. "One of the main things we dealt with on a consistent basis, like the underlying theme of all the shows is you've got to get out there and live your life. The bottom line is this is about you, so how do you want to grow and whom do you want to develop into? My justification is that I say to kids: 'be your best and take advantage of every opportunity,' so I couldn't sit in a place of not taking advantage of an opportunity." In 2001, Lewis told the AP that she wasn't trying to reinvent daytime talk with her new syndicated series, "The Ananda Lewis Show.' "There's only so much different you can do in daytime, which is what I'm learning. There's a certain way, I guess, people are used to doing things and that way's not going to change for a while,' she said. "I think there's a formula, and some cases have proven that formula works. So the objective isn't to reinvent the wheel but to make it spin a little more smoothly.' Lewis' show lasted only one season. But a few years later, she became a correspondent for "The Insider,' a spinoff of "Entertainment Tonight." Lewis was open about her cancer journey since she publicly shared her diagnosis in 2020. At that time, the disease was initially stage 3 before it advanced to stage 4 last year. She had been living with breast cancer for six years. Lewis said doctors recommended a double mastectomy, but she opted for alternative methods. She eventually realized that was the wrong measure, becoming an advocate for being up-to-date with mammogram checkups. "I need you to share this with the women in your life who may be as stubborn as I was about mammograms, and I need you to tell them that they have to do it,' Lewis said in her announcement. "Early detection, especially for breast cancer, changes your outcome. It can save their life.'
Kuwait Times
13-06-2025
- Kuwait Times
Rapper Kendrick Lamar lands the biggest wins at the 2025 BET Awards
Kendrick Lamar was the top winner on Monday at the BET Awards, an awards ceremony honoring Black actors, singers and sports stars. The "30 For 30" rapper won the best male hip hop artist award, best album of the year as well as the video of the year award for 'Not Like Us." The Reuters Daily Briefing newsletter provides all the news you need to start your day. Sign up here. Lamar and filmmaker Dave Free also took home the video director of the year award at the event, which was held at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles and broadcast on the BET cable channel. "BET has always made sure they're representing the culture right and always put me in the midst of the cycle of what we represent," Lamar said on stage when accepting his award. Host comedian Kevin Hart opened the ceremony by recognizing the BET Awards' 25th anniversary and all of the "history that has been made" on the stage. The ceremony traversed the evolution of Black music, starting with a performance by R&B artist Ashanti that featured a compilation of songs, including her 2002 song "Foolish." Additional performances included other 2000s songs "Ballin'" by Mustard, "1 Thing" by Amerie and "Like You" by Bow Wow. Hart led with jokes while also highlighting the BET Ultimate Icon Award winners of the night, including Kirk Franklin, Mariah Carey, Jamie Foxx and Snoop Dogg. The special award was given to those that have paid homage to music, entertainment, advocacy and community impact. Presented by Stevie Wonder, Foxx accepted his award and reflected on his recovery journey after having a stroke in 2023. "I gotta be honest, when I saw the in memoriam, I was like, 'Man, that could have been me'," he said. Another honor included the best female hip hop artist award for rising rapper Doechii. "Trump is using military forces to stop protest," Doechii said in her acceptance speech, addressing the anti-ICE protests in Los Angeles, where the National Guard and U.S. Marines are being deployed. "I want y'all to consider what kind of government it appears to be, when every time we exercise our democratic rights to protest, the military is deployed against us," she added.--AFP
