SZA and Doechii were among many winners at the 2026 BET Awards, taking home the BET Her award for their song "girl, get up." Host Druski had previously warned folks would only have 30 seconds for their speeches before a saxophone player got louder. That happened to the duo, and TDE president Punch was not happy about it.
He took to Twitter to send a since-deleted message to the comedian for this occurrence. "This n***a Druski weird for that Sax stunt," the Top Dawg Entertainment singer's manager wrote, as caught by Kurrco on Twitter. A lot of folks responded critically, bringing up the previous warnings and, unsurprisingly, using matters like the Drake battle against him.
As for the "girl, get up" duo's reaction to the saxophone, they mostly just joked about it and energetically toyed with the saxophone player from a distance. Maybe they didn't hear that part about the speeches, as SZA thought he was just doing a saxophone solo.
Either way, it ended up being more of a controversy than it probably should've been after Punch's comments. We'll see if there's another chapter here or if this is where things stop.
TDE At The BET Awards
Elsewhere, TDE-adjacent artists won big at the BET Awards this year, but not to particularly lauded results. Former label signee Kendrick Lamar took home Best Male Hip-Hop Artist despite not dropping since 2024's GNX, which many fans took issue with. His cultural impact post-Drizzy beef continues to linger, but fans felt other artists like the ICEMAN himself or AOTY winners Clipse deserved it more. K.Dot also took home Best Collaboration for "Chains & Whips" with Pusha T and Malice.
As for Druski's hosting of the 2026 BET Awards, folks are talking about some other skits and gags. For example, he did a Jay-Z impression at one point of the show, although it hasn't led to the same debate the saxophone cut-offs did.
Other 2026 BET Awards highlights include a wide-spanning Lauryn Hill tribute, a standing ovation for Yung Miami, big performances from Cardi B and more, and Janet Jackson giving Teyana Taylor the Icon Of The Year honor. We'll see if Punch has anything else to say about the event.
