Chris Brown has wormed his way back into the hearts of his fans, judging by his emerging the big winner at the BET Awards. He’s obviously been forgiven for his domestic abuse indiscretions, based on his earning the Viewers’ Choice Award for “Look at Me Now.” The song also landed honors for Best Collaboration and Best Video of the Year, while Chris and his once-battered ex, Rihanna, were crowned Best Male and Female R&B Artist, respectively.
The show was hosted by comedian/actor Kevin Hart, who warned the celebs in attendance that nobody would be safe from his caustic barbs, such as Puffy, aka Swag, who was immediately teased about having so many nicknames. But some of the evening’s funniest moments came courtesy of presenters, such as when Taraji P. Henson claimed to have just received a photo of a teeny white penis from recently-disgraced New York Congressman Anthony Weiner.
An array of powerful musical performances by the likes of Jill Scott and Mary J. Blige were unfortunately overshadowed by a number of distracting glitches ranging from the bleeping of profanities by rappers to the TV screen freezing inexplicably. Perhaps the most embarrassing moment involved audience member Tiffany Green who ruined her 15 minutes of fame by announcing the wrong Viewer’s Choice Award-winner.
First she said it was “Chris Brown” and then “Rihanna” before somebody commandeered the microphone to call “Drake” to the stage. Oh, by the way, Drake was the wrong pick, too, and he later had to surrender the trophy to Brown who had been correct after all.
Another awkward moment involved Nicki Minaj who elicited a derisive laugh from the crowd when she feigned, “I can’t believe I won” for Best Female Hip-Hop Artist, when it was obvious that she and everybody else already knew the outcome. By contrast, Willow and Jaden Smith seemed like the picture of innocence when they jointly accepted after tying in the Young Stars Award to the approval of their very proud parents.
Complete List of BET Award Winners
Viewers’ Choice – Chris Brown, “Look at Me Now,” featuring Lil Wayne and Busta Rhymes
Male R&B Artist – Chris Brown
Female R&B Artist – Rihanna
Male Hip-Hop Artist – Kanye West
Female Hip-Hop Artist – Nicki Minaj
Collaboration – “Look at Me Now,” Chris Brown, featuring Lil Wayne and Busta Rhymes
New Artist – Wiz Khalifa
Group – Diddy-Dirty Money
Video of the Year – “Look at Me Now,” Chris Brown, featuring Lil Wayne and Busta Rhymes
Video Director of the Year – Chris Robinson
Young Star – Willow and Jaden Smith
Actor – Idris Elba
Actress – Taraji P. Henson
Movie – For Colored Girls
Gospel – Mary Mary
Centric – Marsha Ambrosius
Sportsman – Michael Vick
Sportswoman – Serena Williams
International Act (United Kingdom) – Tinie Tempah
International Act (Africa) – 2Face Idibia (Nigeria) and D’Banj (Nigeria)
Lifetime Achievement – Patti LaBelle
Watch Tiffany Green’s announcement of the wrong winner below:
-Kam Williams
-Photocredit: Jason Merritt/Getty Images North America
-Photo description: Nigerian act D’Banj
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