Doechii wins Best Female Hip Hop Artist to kick off 2025 BET Awards

The 2025 BET Awards went down in Los Angeles on Monday evening, bringing fans a slew of viral events.

Kendrick Lamar was the big winner of the night, taking home five awards including Album of the Year. 

While Lamar took home the most hardware of the awards show – held at the Peacock Theater in downtown Los Angeles, many others were big winners in other ways.

Some of the nights big moments went viral, including Jamie Foxx being driven to tears while accepting his Ultimate Icon Award.

Doechii also picked up her first ever BET Award, while going viral for her pointed acceptance speech that called out President Donald Trump and his mass deportations and ICE raids across Los Angeles.

While she didn’t hit the red carpet or officially participate in the show, many fans were also talking about Lizzo showing off her new skinny look while hanging out with SZA. 

Jamie Foxx was honored with the BET Ultimate Icon Award, presented by Stevie Wonder, after a star-studded musical tribute. 

‘I cannot even begin to express the love that I feel from everybody out there,’ Foxx began, adding when he saw the memoriam segment, he realized, ‘Man, that could’ve been me.’

‘I don’t know why I went through what I went through, but I know my second chance I’m not going to turn down,’ Foxx said.

‘I have so much love to give. I told him, I said, man, bro, just give me one more crack at this. And I promised, I said whatever reason you put this on me, I promise I’m going to do it right,’ Foxx said while choking back tears.

‘I don’t want to make my whole speech about that, but you can’t go through something like that and not testify,’ he added.

He gave a shout-out to his team, joking that usually at his age, ‘you are playing that father on the Disney,’ with the ‘big-a** sweater and the coffee mug, but luckily I have a great team that stabilize me.’ 

He also thanked his sister Deidre, who, ‘when I went through what I was going through, she shut it down and she made sure that she took care of her brother.’

He also thanked his daughter Corrine, adding, ‘You take the back seat on everything, but when you needed to drive it, you drove.’ 

He concluded by thanking his 14-year-old daughter Anelise Bishop, who when he was sick, ‘snuck into my room with her guitar and said I know what you need. And she played the guitar, my vitals dropped and I realized that god was in that guitar, and the nurses ran in and said what did they give him? And my daughter says “Shh, I got him.”‘

Fans took to X to react to the tribute, including Raveen Marie (@theraveenreport) who said, ‘Knowing that we could have lost Jamie Foxx.. this tribute is so so special.’

Shayna Sherie (@TheMogulGirl) added, ‘This #BETAwards salute to @iamjamiefoxx is insane !!! This is the best he deserved all the flowers ! Love you Jamie #betawards25.’

Kellz (@Mz_KellieBaby) added, ‘Jamie Foxx tribute is probably one of the best we’ve seen in the last few years !!! I’m bout to blast this album tomorrow.’

Doechii also went viral after winning her first BET Award for Best Female Hip Hop Artist on Monday night, using her acceptance speech to address the unrest over ICE raids in Los Angeles.

The 26-year-old Tampa rapper (born Jaylah Ji’mya Hickmon) beat out Cardi B, Doja Cat, GloRilla, Latto, Megan Thee Stallion, Nicki Minaj, Rapsody and Sexyy Red for the award, during the ceremony at the Peacock Theater in downtown Los Angeles. 

She took to the stage to accept her award, thanking the BET network, adding, ‘This is my first BET Awards, so this means a lot to me.’ 

‘I grew up watching this. I want to acknowledge all of the girls in my category that worked hard, extremely talented and very creative. You ladies are amazing. So, thank you, BET, for honoring me with this,’ she added. 

Her speech turned serious, though, after that, addressing the protests in downtown Los Angeles over mass deportations and ICE raids, which President Donald Trump responded to by deploying the National Guard in a controversial move.  

‘But as much as I’m honored by this award, I do want to address what’s happening right now outside of the building,’ she said to applause.

‘There are ruthless attacks that are creating fear and chaos in our communities in the name of “Law & order.” Trump is using military forces to stop a protest,’ she added. 

‘I want you all to consider what kind of government it appears to be one every time we exercise our democratic right to protest, the military is deployed against us,’ she added. 

‘What type of government is that? People are being swept up and torn from their families, and I feel it’s my responsibility as an artist to use this moment to speak up for all oppressed people,’ she said to more applause.

‘For black people. For Latino people, for trans people. For the people in Gaza. We all deserve to live in hope and not in fear. I hope we stand together. My brothers and my sisters, against hate, and we protest against it. Thank you, BET!’ she concluded.

Many fans responded positively to her speech, including @BrightOsajie, who said, ‘God bless Doechii for that speech and for the moment of realness…my girl, and congrats on the deserved award Queen!! #BETAwards2025.’

Lunar Skye (@LunarSkye) added, ‘Doechii won Best Female Hip-hop Artist and used her speech to call out Trump, ICE, militarized police being deployed every time we protest, and support Black people, Latinos, trans people, and Gaza (Palestine). They can never make me hate you, Queen!’

Cookie (@CookieNChill) added, ‘Much RESPECT TO DOECHII for standing up FOR THE PEOPLE! #BETAwards.’

Many fans were also surprised to see Lizzo, since she didn’t walk the red carpet, though she was later spotted with SZA, who won one of the first awards of the night and wasn’t there at the time to accept. 

She was also seen posing with Lil’ Fizzle Pop, J-Boog and Omarion, with many taking to social media to say how great she looked.

Raisa Habersham (@newsworthy17) tweeted, ‘Lizzo looked ravishing! (She shoulda performed, too!) #BETAwards.’

She (@YouFugazi) said, ‘Lizzo looking good asf,’ while another fan dubbed @kdotvici adding even more praise.

‘Lizzo was almost unidentifiable lol She was already gorgeous. Lizzo is FIERCE now!’ the X user said.#BETAwards.

Though many others were upset when the cameras cut to Lizzo immediately after host Kevin Hart, Druski and Kai Cenat made a joke about diabetes.

Danielle Chanté (@Dani_820) said, ‘Why would yall put the camera on Lizzo when Kevin mentioned Diabetes??’

Crystal Renee took to the stage to present Best Female R&B/Pop Artist, which was won by SZA.

She beat out Ari Lennox, Ayra Starr, Coco Jones, Kehlani, Muni Long, Summer Walker and Victoria Monét, though she was not there to accept the award, though she was later seen in the audience with Lizzo.

Deon Cole and Ironheart star Dominique Thorne took to the stage to present Best New Artist, which was won by Leon Thomas.

Leon beat out 41, Ayra Starr, BigXthaPlug, Bossman Dlow, Dee Billz, October London, Shaboozey and Teddy Swims for the award.

Thomas began by saying his grandfather always told him, ‘music is a team sport,’ before thanking God, adding he was, ‘the coach of my life.’

He also joked, ‘My mother, she went on a bathroom break, she didn’t get to see me win! But I’ll tell you right now, we’ve been in this together my entire life and I wouldn’t be here without you, mom, I love you so much.’

The rapper went on to thank his team at Easy Money, including Ty Dollar $ign, capital, the whole machine, wrapping up his speech with, ‘I appreciate you all. I love you all so much, thank you.’

Keke Palmer presented the Album of the Year award, which was won by GNX by Kendrick Lamar.

The Compton native beat out $Ome $Exy $Ongs 4 U – Drake & PartyNextDoor, 11:11 Deluxe – Chris Brown, Alligator Bites Never Heal – Doechii, Cowboy Carter – Beyoncé, Glorious – GloRilla, Hurry Up Tomorrow – The Weeknd and We Don’t Trust You – Future & Metro Boomin.

Kendrick took to the stage and began his speech by stating, ‘What’s up, L.A., come on! First and foremost, I’d like to thank everybody out in this crowd, looking good tonight.’  

‘I ain’t been here in a long time, but I always kept my heart, bet, always make sure they are present in the culture right and putting me in the midst of the cycle that we represent,’ he added. 

‘And that’s real, true, down to Earth music, so I always give my heart to bet. My folks in the building, all my L.A. Natives, I see you out back,’ he said. 

Brown was not in attendance during the ceremony to accept his award, with Busta Rhymes taking to the stage to present the Ultimate Icon award to Mariah Carey.

Dr. Dre took to the stage to present Snoop Dogg with the Ultimate Icon Award, more than 30 years after their first collaborations.  

Snoop started by saying, ‘First off I want to say thank you to bet, thank you for this honor, for this team of mine, this icon award. That’s love. Shout out to the teachers who taught me how to read and write. That’s very important. That’s very important. Shout out to all of the emcees that I’ve battled along the way, steel sharpens steel.’

He thanked Dr. Dre for allowing him to ‘ghost write’ on Deep Cover, the track where he made his debut, and his late cousin Joe Cool, who created the iconic Doogystyle album cover when he was locked up. 

He also gave a shout-out to Warren G, adding, ‘He believed in me before anybody else did. He was always like Don King going around pushing my music and just being a real friend as far as believing in me when I didn’t believe in my self. And a lot of these artists don’t understand that.’

‘When you see success you just think it’s success but there’s curtain days where it’s disbelief, its failure, it’s giving up, it’s all of that that happens and sometimes it takes a friend to give you that encouragement and Warren G has always been that friend for me. So thank you for being that friend and keeping me going in this game,’ he said.

He also thanked his wife Shante and his daughter Cori, who welcomed a newborn who is currently in NICU. 

‘She came up premature and she was about this big and now she’s about this big and she’s on her way home soon,’ he said to applause.

He also thanked his life coach Uncle Charlie, everyone who has participated in the Snoop Youth Football League, which has produced 49 NFL players in 20 years. 

‘And to all of my fans, the ones that’s been with me since “Deep cover.” And you still rocking with me today. I don’t take that for granted. Not one bit. Pop gave me a voice, it gave me a purpose, it gave me a way out and a way in. Into homes, hearts, cultures, and countries I never thought that I would even touch,’ he said.

‘Being an icon, it ain’t about fame. It’s about legacy. It’s about what you build, what you leave behind and who you lift up along the way. And this award, it ain’t just for me. It’s for the homeboys that I lost, for the next generation of artists, for everybody who is still grinding and still believing. So, to every young king and queen out there that’s chasing your dream: Keep pushing. Be original. Be fearless. And above all, be you,’ he concluded.

Brittney Spencer, Devon Franklin and Letoya Luckett presented the Dr. Bobby Jones Gospel/Inspirational Award, won by “Rain Down on Me” – GloRilla feat. Kirk Franklin, Maverick City Music.

T.I. presented the Ultimate Icon Award to his mentor Kirk Franklin, who thanked his adoptive mother Gertrude, who, ‘adopted a four-year-old boy nobody wanted.’

‘The only time I felt loved was when I sat behind the piano and wrote songs to Luda. April loved my songs and the more I wrote, the more people listened,’ he said.

‘Thank you to all of you who still listen. Thank you to every group, singer, musician that has been the microphone to my pain,’ he said.

‘I am not perfect I fail, I sin. I am not a perfect Christian. I’m not a perfect husband, and we all know I’m not a perfect father. I’m not even a perfect artist, because I can’t even sing. Which makes this award even more amazing, because what I really do don’t make sense and if you’re listening to this, that’s when you know it’s God,’ he said.

Most of the winners weren’t featured on the broadcast, though Kendrick Lamar was easily the big winner, taking home five awards in total. 

Along with his win for Album of the Year, Lamar also took home Best Collaboration for his song Luther with SZA, Best Male Hip-Hop Artist, Video of the Year (Not Like Us) and Video Director of the Year (Not Like Us with Dave Free).

Chris Brown was the only other artist with multiple wins, taking home Best Male R&B/Pop Artist along with Viewers Choice.

Other winners include Future & Metro Boomin for Best Group, Cynthia Erivo for Best Actress, Denzel Washington for Best Actor, Blue Ivy Carter for YoungStars Award, Angel Reese (Basketball) for Sportswoman of the Year, Jalen Hurts (Football) for Sportsman of the Year and “Heart of a Woman” – Summer Walker for BET Her Award.