Diddy, Kirk Franklin, Playboi Carti & More Catch Strays During Kevin Hart Opening at 2025 BET Awards: 'Sh*t gets slippery'
Last night's (June 9) BET Awards was nothing short of entertaining with actor and comedian Kevin Hart taking over as host.
The Think Like a Man (2012) star opened up the show with a 10-minute monologue that could have easily been footage for a future stand-up special.
Although he began by recognizing the 25th anniversary of the awards show and the 45th anniversary of the network, noting that "this room tonight looks beautiful" and that Black people "need to do this sh*t more often", it didn't take the quick-thinking and even quicker talker long to find his targets for the next 10 minutes.
"I'ma do my part. I'm shutting down the idea of after-parties. No after-parties tonight, okay? None. Take ya asses home after this. That's why I did it on a Monday. People gotta go to work tomorrow. No after-parties! That's where sh*t gets slippery, at them gatdamn after-parties. We're learning a lot about people, ain't we? Take ya asses home," he joked.
Hart was obviously alluding to Sean "Diddy" Combs' alleged "freak-offs" amid the record producer's ongoing trial.
"I had BET get those Waymo cars, those those cars without the drivers, take y'all home. Can't bribe 'em, nobody in the car. Take ya asses home. No yachts, no boats. Cardi B, no pink stuff. What the f*** is that, huh? None of that stuff. Everybody's gonna get hit tonight. We're live. It's gonna be a good time. Prepare for it early, so it doesn't hurt when it happens."
Always a good sport, Hart poked fun at himself and his breakout film Soul Plane (2004), telling the audience to "scratch that" off the list of iconic BET programming that propelled his career.
"Although Soul Plane did make me a household name, the reason I say that is because I was in more houses than theaters. They bootlegged the sh*t out of that movie. They really did," he joked.
"I think BET was a part of it because when we was in theaters, Soul Plane was also on BET Unct. This is a true story. After the video "Tip Drill", Soul Plane came on. Swear to God, I saw it."
Just after he reassured the audience that he was going to make sure they had a good time "because we should and we can", he reminded them of his requested dress code.
"Because you guys got dressed up and I asked you to, by the way, thank you. I said black-tie. I wanted y'all to get dressed. I’m tired of everybody walking round with they t*tties and ass out. What’s happening with the way we’re dressing now? What’s happening? What is happening? Put some gatdamn clothes on," he joked.
"Everybody showin' they tattoos. The tattoos don’t look like they used to, people. They fading. A lot of these butterflies starting to look like out-of-shape bats. I’m telling you right now. Cover 'em up! Put some gatdamn clothes on. Look good."
Rallying up the crowd, Hart continued with his set, declaring that because everyone looked so good, he would henceforth address them all by their government names.
"We got Lil Wayne here tonight. That’s a big deal, Lil Wayne. Birdman calls him Lil Wayne, his fans call him Lil Wayne. I’m calling him Michael Carter Davis Jr. That’s what I’m calling him tonight. Michael Carter Davis Jr.’s in the building tonight. We are celebrating Michael Carter Davis Jr. tonight," he said through a few laughs.
"You know what, if I say your name just raise your hand. Treat it like school. Gloria Hallelujah Woods, raise your hand. Yeah, that’s Gloria Hallelujah Woods. A lot of people expected to see a big church lady in the back selling fish plates. Nope, that’s GloRilla. That’s who that is. Hallelujah Woods. Shouts-out to you, Glo. Excited to have you here tonight."
His fifth target was none other than ultimate icon Snoop Dogg.
"We also got Calvin Cordozar Broadus in the building. Calvin Cordozar. Calvin Cordozar Broadus. Yup! There he is. Calvin! Calvin Cordozar Broadus. That’s right, Snoop. We got you in the building tonight. An icon. Celebrating my unc, man. The only person I know with more jobs than me," he said.
"Snoop what are we celebrating you for? Is it the rap album? The reggae album? The pitbull farm? Like, do you even know why you here tonight, Snoop? After 50, weed hit different, you know. They say, when you stuck, you really stuck. We gotta get you out of it."
Snoop Dogg and his wife Shante could not contain their laughter. Hart quickly changed his tone to honor the rap mogul, calling his Ultimate Icon Award "well deserved".
"Honestly, Snoop, I love you, man. This is something that is long overdue, celebrating icons. I am honestly blown away that I get the pleasure of doing it, brother. You already know what it is between us."
This love and honor was passed on to the host's next target, Jamie Foxx, whom Hart said we are lucky to have here.
"As a comedian and now an actor, to see somebody accomplish all that Jamie Foxx has accomplished, it's unreal, man. And I really do take this moment in. It's a big deal. So, show some love to my man Foxx," he said.
However, this love did not come without some teasing.
"We got Eric Bishop here tonight, too. Yup. That is not the Creole pope from Chicago, that’s Jamie Foxx," he started.
"Eric Bishop is being celebrated tonight, that’s a big deal, man. A triple threat. Oh my God. An actor, singer, stroke survivor, huh? That’s big. Not many people can say that. You can’t kill Django, no shot."
And while the crowd was rocking with Hart's jokes, there was seemingly a slight hesitance to laugh at Foxx's stroke. However, that awkwardness vanished once Hart expressed his gratitude for the fellow actor/comedian, and the spotlight was now on Kirk Franklin.
"We’re honoring Kirk Franklin tonight as well. That’s right. Kirk Franklin is in the building. Kirk, do me a favor, when you get your award tonight, don’t come up here front twerking, okay? Don’t come up here popping [expletive]. Don’t do it. Don’t do it, Kirk. Don’t do it. That’s what Kirk be doing. He be tryina blame it on the Lord. The Lord didn’t ask for that. Put it away, Kirk," he said while Franklin hid his face and laughed.
Hart told Franklin "God bless you" before addressing the crowd by yelling, "God is good all the time," to which they responded, "And all the time God is good," as a last-ditch effort to "repent" for what he said to the gospel musician.
"Kirk, that makes it right," he chuckled. "Whatever I just said goes away."
Franklin, his wife, Tammy, the rest of the audience, and Hart all burst into uncontrollable laughter.
After finally catching his breath, Hart recognized Mariah Carey as a fellow icon and reminded the audience to "make sure that we take advantage of celebrating our icons in real time".
As the Night School (2018) actor was bringing his monologue to a close, he announced that he had just received a text from Kanye asking to be let inside.
"Hey, don't do it, okay? We all saw the movie Sinners. Don't let his ass in here, so he can bite somebody," he joked.
"So he can bite Playboi Carti again, okay? Playboi Carti definitely been bit. Something happened. Playboi Carti been bit. I know he has. Nobody let Kanye in. No! Not tonight."
After playfully hitting all his targets, Hart felt that his job of setting the tone for the night had been done.
"I'ma say it again, 25 years. Twenty-five years of excellence, 25 years of culture, 25 years of history. ... Buckle up, because you're in for a treat. Let's go!"
