Lauryn Hill called on fans to use their “gifts” to spread joy in the world amid a heartfelt speech at the 2026 BET Awards on Sunday night.
During the ceremony held at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, rapper-actor Ice Cube presented the Doo Wop (That Thing) singer with the inaugural Living Legend Icon Award, calling her “one of the greatest voices in Black music history”.
After accepting the honour, Hill took a moment to reflect on how she has always sought to “fight” for others.
“I have always cared about the expression and the representation of the dignity of our people,” she began. “So, we put ourselves sometimes as artists, we put ourselves in places, in situations to say things that aren’t always comfortable, but we understand that people will understand later. I fight for y’all. Everybody may not know about it, but I fight for y’all. And me fighting for y’all, is me fighting for myself. Me fighting for my children, fighting for my parents, it’s me fighting for my grandparents, it’s me fighting for my community.”
The mother-of-six went on to encourage fans to harness their gifts, whether they be musical talents or otherwise, to inspire other people.
“Somebody out there needs your gift. So, don’t sell your gift short. I’m rooting for everybody to be the best version of themselves they possibly can because God made you that way,” the 51-year-old continued. “We may not always agree all the time, but I’m rooting for you, and I’m grateful that you root for me sometimes, too. All of our differences, all of our uniqueness, that’s the beauty, ya’ll. We don’t have to sound the same, we don’t have to look the same, we don’t have to be the same. That’s the beauty. I love you.”
In addition, Hill performed her classic song, Ex Factor, for the crowd, revealing in the intro that she wasn’t supposed to sing that night, but an unnamed singer had pulled out of the show.
Other artists to honour the music superstar included SZA and Doechii, who offered up a rendition of the Fugees’ Ready or Not, Doja Cat and Nas, who performed If I Ruled the World (Imagine That), Lizzo, who sang Doo Wop (That Thing), and Alexia Jayy, who delivered an emotional version of Killing Me Softly. Queen Latifah and Common concluded the tribute with Lost Ones.
The other special awards at the 2026 BET Awards went to Teyana Taylor, who was presented with the Icon of the Year award by Janet Jackson, and music executive Sylvia Rhone, who was bestowed with the Ultimate Icon Award by Kelly Rowland.
