The 16th

BET Awards The BET Awards is an American award show that was established in 2001 by the Black Entertainment Television network to celebrate black entertainers and other minorities in music, film, sports and philanthropy. The awards, which are presented annua ...

were held at the

Microsoft Theater The Microsoft Theater (formerly Nokia Theatre L.A. Live) is a music and theater venue in downtown Los Angeles, California, at L.A. Live. The theater auditorium seats 7,100 and holds one of the largest indoor stages in the United States. Histor ...

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California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

on June 26, 2016. The ceremony celebrated mass achievements in black entertainment and honored music, sports, television, and motion pictures released between April 1, 2015 and March 30, 2016. The nominees were announced on Friday, May 20, 2016, with

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals * A male duck People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name * Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name ...

leading the pack with 9 nominations, while

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...

and

Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, actress, and businesswoman. Born in Saint Michael and raised in Bridgetown, Barbados, Rihanna auditioned for American record producer Evan Rogers who invited her to th ...

both followed behind with 6. Beyoncé ended up winning the most awards with 5, including Video of the Year. Beyoncé opened the show with a performance of "

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" with

Kendrick Lamar Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper and songwriter. Known for his progressive musical styles and socially conscious songwriting, he is often considered one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generat ...

. The act featured the 50+ foot long pool that is included in her set during

The Formation World Tour The Formation World Tour was the seventh concert tour by American singer Beyoncé in support of her sixth studio album, ''Lemonade'' (2016). The all-stadium tour was announced following her guest appearance at the Super Bowl 50 halftime show. T ...

, where she and her backup dancers perform the choreography barefoot. Another highlight from the show was the speech from actor and activist Jesse Williams, who spoke on topics such as racism and

police brutality Police brutality is the excessive and unwarranted use of force by law enforcement against an individual or a group. It is an extreme form of police misconduct and is a civil rights violation. Police brutality includes, but is not limited to ...

during his acceptance speech for the Humanitarian Award. However, the most anticipated moments of the night were the multiple tributes to

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, who died in April 2016. Seven different performances paying homage to him were spread throughout the evening. The awards ceremony was broadcast for the first time as a

simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of simultaneous broadcast) is the broadcasting of programmes/programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simul ...

across 12

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properties. Outside of BET Networks operated channels

BET Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los ...

& Centric, the show aired on the music based platforms of

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

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and VH1 &

VH1 Classic MTV Classic (formerly VH1 Smooth, VH1 Classic Rock, and VH1 Classic) is an American pay television network owned by Paramount Media Networks. It was originally launched in 1998 as VH1 Smooth, an adult contemporary and smooth jazz channel. It w ...

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its networks division's Kids and Family Group. It ...

(first hour),

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(final two hours), and

TeenNick TeenNick is an American pay-TV channel that is operated by the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Aimed primarily at teens and tweens, its programming includes a variety of live-action series inherited from sister channel Ni ...

as well as general entertainment platforms of Comedy Central,

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and Spike.

Performances

Nominations and Winners

The following is a list of winners and nominees. The nominations were announced on May 20, 2016.

Special awards

* Lifetime Achievement Award - Samuel L. Jackson * Humanitarian Award - Jesse Williams

Controversy

Jesse Williams's humanitarian award speech was the subject of backlash from some ''

Grey's Anatomy ''Grey's Anatomy'' is an American medical drama television series that premiered on March 27, 2005, on ABC as a mid-season replacement. The series focuses on the lives of surgical interns, residents, and attendings as they develop into s ...

'' fans. The show's fans made a Change.org petition. The petition says that Williams "spewed a racist, hate speech against law enforcement and white people at the BET Awards." Fans also wanted him to get fired from the series. On the morning of July 5, 2016, where the petition garnered 7,000 signatures, ''Grey's Anatomy'' creator

Shonda Rhimes Shonda Lynn Rhimes (born January 13, 1970) is an American television screenwriter, producer, and author. She is best known as the showrunner—creator, head writer, and executive producer—of the television medical drama '' Grey's Anatomy'', ...

responded to the petition by saying on

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in a tweet, "Um, people? Boo don't need a petition. #shondalandrules." However, the petition continued to see an increase in signatures.

References

External links

Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bet Awards Of 2016 BET Awards 2016 music awards 2016 awards 2016 awards in the United States