There was plenty to remember from Sunday's BET Awards, a show which honored some of the biggest names in entertainment while putting an emphasis on Black resilience and excellence. 

1. Taraji P. Henson dedicates outfits to icons

Host Taraji P. Henson led the cultural celebration by wearing various outfits to honor Black icons. The Empire star included a fashionable wardrobe dedicated to HER, as well as another outfit honoring Erykah Badu.

According to Yahoo, the 50-year-old artist gave a hint before the show, saying that she will come out with some mesmerizing looks.

"Tonight you gonna get 100 percent of our full Blackness," Henson said during the show. "I'm going to tell you why. Because this is where we matter, where our Black entertainment matters. It's 2021 and we are celebrating the year of the Black woman. Period."

2. Cardi announces pregnancy during live show

Cardi B pulled off the biggest surprise of the night when she announced that she's pregnant. As Blavity previously reported, the artist showed off her baby bump while joining Migos to perform their Culture III song “Type S**t.” She also broke the big news on Instagram.

3. Method Man got his fans drooling

Method Man caught the eyes of his fans for simply looking like himself as usual.

4. Megan Thee Stallion makes emotional speech

As the celebration of culture continued throughout the show, Megan Thee Stallion gave a an emotional speech while accepting her awards. The rapper thanked her late mother and fought back tears as she the accepted award for Best Female Hip-Hop Artist.

"Everybody knows I am a girl's girl, and I just want to say, thank you mama," Megan said. "Thank you mama for even putting it in me to want to be a female rapper and putting the work ethic inside of me and the drive and the push."

The artist's mother died in 2019, according to ABC News.

"She can't be here with me today, but I still think about her everyday and she is the reason why I keep going," the 26-year-old said. "I just want to say thank you to all the women who support me, because it's really appreciated."

Megan also thanked her friend and beloved colleague, Cardi.

“I really forgot to say thank you Cardi for even putting me on ‘WAP' because it makes me feel so good to be acknowledged by one of my peers, who I think so highly of," she said moments after receiving the award for best collaboration. “I think so highly of all the women who was nominated in this category." 

5. Jazmine Sullivan thanks her mother

Jazmine Sullivan, who also thanked her mother on Sunday, won album of the year for her EP Heaux Tales.


“Two years ago we would have never expected to be here. My mom was diagnosed with breast cancer two years ago so we didn’t see any of this happening, but God has been so faithful to us and my mom is in remission,” Sullivan said. “This is my prize. This is my gift. It means more to me than anything that she’s her with me. She supported me all my life.”

6. Lil Nas kisses dancer

Lil Nas X, who is always unapologetically himself, performed “Montero (Call Me by Your Name)," then kissed a dancer on stage. 

7. Darnella Frazier gets recognition

Sunday's show also honored Darnella Frazier, Darnella Frazier, the woman who filmed the murder of George Floyd in 2020. Actress Lauren London took the stage and described Frazier's actions as "brave and transformative."

"This young woman who captured a moment in history that reflects our brutal past helping to forge a way forward with her cell phone in hand, she recorded 9 minutes and 29 seconds of social injustice, highlighting the murder of George Floyd," London said. "Sometimes in life, it just takes one person to prove that we play a large part in getting the accountability we deserve. She didn't set out to change the world, she set out to do what was right."

8. Bonnet slander slandered

The debate about whether or not Black women should be wearing bonnets in public, a topic which has taken over the internet in recent weeks, continued at the BET Awards.

Judging by the social media comments that surfaced during the show, most people are not here to tolerate any amount of bonnet slander. 

Social media users were especially thinking of Monique, who had taken some heat after saying that Black women should not wear their bonnets outside the home.

“I’ve been seeing it not just at the airport. I’ve been seeing it at the store, at the mall. When did we lose our pride in representing ourselves? When did we slip away of let me make sure I’m presentable when I leave my home?” Monique said in an Instagram video earlier this month, according to Hip-Hop Wired. 

9. DMX tribute

The night couldn't end without a tribute to one of the most iconic rappers of all time.

Busta Rhymes, Michael K. Williams and Method Man came to the stage to do a rendition of the late Ruff Ryders rapper hits including "Slippin," "Where The Hood At" and "What's My Name?" 

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