Kendrick Lamar was the leading competitive winner at the BET Awards 2025. He won Album of the Year for GNX, Best Male Hip Hop Artist, Video of the Year for “Not Like Us,” and Best Collaboration for “Luther” with SZA. Lamar also shared Video Director of the Year with Dave Free.
The 25th BET Awards were held on June 9, 2025, at Los Angeles’ Peacock Theater and hosted by Kevin Hart. Here is the complete winners list across music, film, television, sports, international awards, youth culture and special honors.
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BET Awards 2025 winners: the complete list
Kendrick Lamar was the leading competitive winner at the 2025 BET Awards, taking home Album of the Year for GNX, Best Male Hip Hop Artist, Video of the Year for “Not Like Us,” and Best Collaboration with SZA for “Luther.” Lamar also shared Video Director of the Year with Dave Free.
The 25th BET Awards took place on June 9, 2025, at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. Kevin Hart hosted the ceremony, which recognized achievements in music, film, television, sports, international entertainment, youth culture and community impact.
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Music winners
| Category | Winner |
|---|---|
| Best Female R&B/Pop Artist | SZA |
| Best Male R&B/Pop Artist | Chris Brown |
| Best Group | Future & Metro Boomin |
| Best Collaboration | “Luther” — Kendrick Lamar and SZA |
| Best Male Hip Hop Artist | Kendrick Lamar |
| Best Female Hip Hop Artist | Doechii |
| Video of the Year | “Not Like Us” — Kendrick Lamar |
| Video Director of the Year | Dave Free and Kendrick Lamar |
| Best New Artist | Leon Thomas |
| Album of the Year | GNX — Kendrick Lamar |
| Dr. Bobby Jones Best Gospel/Inspirational Award | “Rain Down on Me” — GloRilla featuring Kirk Franklin and Maverick City Music |
| BET Her Award | “Heart of a Woman” — Summer Walker |
| Viewers’ Choice Award | “Residuals” — Chris Brown |
Album of the Year: If you want a physical copy of the ceremony’s central album winner, Kendrick Lamar GNX CD is the most direct listening tie-in. Availability, seller, format and price can change, so check those details before buying. It is a music release connected to a BET winner, not official BET Awards merchandise.
Film and television winners
| Category | Winner |
|---|---|
| Best Actress | Cynthia Erivo |
| Best Actor | Denzel Washington |
| Best Movie | Luther: Never Too Much |
Sports and youth winners
| Category | Winner |
|---|---|
| YoungStars Award | Blue Ivy Carter |
| Sportswoman of the Year | Angel Reese, basketball |
| Sportsman of the Year | Jalen Hurts, football |
International award winners
| Category | Winner |
|---|---|
| Best International Act | Ayra Starr, Nigeria |
| Best New International Act | Ajuliacosta, Brazil, and TXC, South Africa |
Best New International Act was a joint win. Ajuliacosta and TXC should therefore both be credited rather than treating one name as an additional nominee or an omission from the official result.
Special honors
| Honor | Recipient |
|---|---|
| Global Good Award | Mentivity, United Kingdom |
| Ultimate Icon Award | Mariah Carey |
| Ultimate Icon Award | Jamie Foxx |
| Ultimate Icon Award | Snoop Dogg |
| Ultimate Icon Award | Kirk Franklin |
The four Ultimate Icon recipients were honorary honorees. They should be distinguished from the ceremony’s competitive category winners.
The biggest BET Awards 2025 storylines
Kendrick Lamar dominated the competitive results
Lamar’s wins covered several parts of the music program rather than a single category: artist recognition, album, collaboration, music video and directing. GNX won Album of the Year, “Not Like Us” won Video of the Year, and “Luther,” his collaboration with SZA, won Best Collaboration. Lamar and Dave Free jointly received Video Director of the Year.
That distinction matters when counting his awards. BET’s results identify four individual category wins for Lamar, plus the shared directing award. Describing the result as five entirely individual wins would be inaccurate.
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Doechii collected her first BET Award
Doechii won Best Female Hip Hop Artist, her first BET Award, according to the Associated Press’ event report. During her acceptance speech, she addressed immigration raids and protest crackdowns taking place near the Los Angeles venue. The moment connected the ceremony’s celebration of hip-hop with the wider justice-focused themes that also appeared during the 25th-anniversary event.
The ceremony combined emerging talent and legacy recognition
The winners list placed newer or fast-rising names alongside established stars. Leon Thomas won Best New Artist, Blue Ivy Carter received the YoungStars Award, and Doechii earned a major competitive honor. At the other end of the career spectrum, Mariah Carey, Jamie Foxx, Snoop Dogg and Kirk Franklin received Ultimate Icon Awards.
Rank #4
- Shrink-wrapped
The result was a ceremony that looked both backward and forward: it celebrated influential careers while recognizing current artists, athletes and international performers. Mentivity’s Global Good Award added a community-impact dimension beyond entertainment categories.
How the Viewers’ Choice result fits into the list
Chris Brown’s “Residuals” won the Viewers’ Choice Award. BET announced that result separately from its main winners recap, so it is easy to miss in abbreviated lists. It is included above as an official 2025 award and should not be confused with Best Male R&B/Pop Artist, which also went to Brown.
Best Value
Source and result notes
- The ceremony date was June 9, 2025, not June 10. June 10 reports were post-show coverage.
- The event was held at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles and hosted by Kevin Hart.
- Kendrick Lamar’s directing award was shared with Dave Free.
- Ajuliacosta and TXC were joint winners of Best New International Act.
- The Viewers’ Choice winner was “Residuals” by Chris Brown.
- The competitive winners and category details above follow BET’s official complete-list report and winners archive. The Ultimate Icon recipients and Doechii’s first-win and acceptance-speech context are additionally supported by Associated Press event coverage.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who won the most awards at the BET Awards 2025?
Kendrick Lamar led the competitive results with Album of the Year for GNX, Best Male Hip Hop Artist, Video of the Year for “Not Like Us,” and Best Collaboration for “Luther” with SZA. He also shared Video Director of the Year with Dave Free.
When and where were the BET Awards 2025 held?
The 2025 BET Awards took place on June 9, 2025, at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. Kevin Hart hosted the ceremony.
Who won the BET Awards 2025 Viewers’ Choice Award?
Chris Brown’s “Residuals” won the Viewers’ Choice Award. BET announced this result separately from its main winners recap.
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Who won Best New International Act at the BET Awards 2025?
Ajuliacosta of Brazil and TXC of South Africa were joint winners of Best New International Act.
The Bottom Line
Kendrick Lamar led the 2025 BET Awards competitive results, while SZA, Chris Brown, Doechii, Leon Thomas, Angel Reese, Jalen Hurts, Ayra Starr and the other winners shared a ceremony that balanced current achievement with legacy honors. The full list also includes the separately announced Viewers’ Choice win for Chris Brown’s “Residuals” and the joint international win for Ajuliacosta and TXC.
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