The Best And Worst Dressed Stars At The 2026 BET Awards

Between British diva RAYE putting in a barnstorming performance of her track "Nightingale Lane" and Teyana Taylor welling up at the sight of Janet Jackson, the 2026 BET Awards felt nostalgic in the best way. Of course, fashion is always a major focus on Culture's Biggest Night, and it was no different this year.

"[Everybody] looks so good," noted one X user. "Best BET awards in a very long time."  Another X user concurred with this sentiment, writing, "Everybody brought their A game!" Well, almost everybody. There were also a few attendees who earned honorable mentions for all the wrong reasons. Cough, first-time host Druski, cough. So, you bet — wink, wink, nudge, nudge — we're going to break down the very best and the very worst ensembles at the 2026 BET Awards.

At the 2026 BETs, Chlöe Bailey stunned in silver. Or, as she wrote on Instagram, "Feeling like a black Marilyn Monroe." Indeed, it was a Monroeian look, with Bailey's strapless dress and bleached blonde shoulder-length hair reminiscent of the "Niagara" actor's 1960s 'do.

The "Strung" star's gown, designed by Valdrin Sahiti, showed that you don't have to drag one of Monroe's old dresses from the archives to get her style à la Kim Kardashian. Rather, it's a state of mind, blonde hair, and some sparkle.

On an overcast day in Los Angeles, it's perhaps not surprising a puffer-style coat was worn on the BET Awards red carpet. However, Queen Latifah's version looked like it had been hitting the gym.

"The Equalizer" star wore a jacket designed by Kilian Kerner that resembled six car tires taking human form, with a bizarre texture to boot and a long black skirt underneath. It wasn't especially chic, and it definitely wasn't simple. As one user on X bluntly put it, "She looks a big hot mess."

Kelly Rowland, whose undergone a stunning transformation, looked like came from the Studio 54 dance floor to the 2026 BET Awards red carpet. With her ombré hair in curls, her dress with its ultra low-cut neckline, and those Aquazzura kitten heels, the look was giving "I Feel Love" and Bianca Jagger riding a horse over the dance floor (which actually happened).

Put a sepia tint over a photo of the former Destiny's Child singer in this outfit, and it'd look like it was taken at a '70s awards show. Don't believe us? Here's our the most iconic red carpet looks of the 1970s.

A plaid suit or a plaid tie on its own is a men's suiting staple, but a plaid suit paired with a plaid shirt and a plaid tie is too much. The "Whatever You Like" rap ace T.I. went that over the top with his 2026 BET Awards look.

His outfit had more checks than a bank pre-Apple Pay. You'd think the pattern was going out of style seeing this outfit. Thankfully, it's not and has been a mainstay in wardrobes since the 1970s. So, T.I. needn't have tripled down on the pattern.

The-Dream's look at the 2026 BET Awards harkened back to the Black dandyism tradition of the 1920s. It's a style that gained notoriety again thanks to it being the theme of the 2025 Met Gala, and the Kanye West collaborator wouldn't have looked out of place at that gala, nor the 2026 BETs, in this look.

Between his cane, pinstripe suit, and black leather beret, this look had the flamboyance, sharp tailoring, and cool associated with Black dandyism. Considering the BETs is about celebrating Black entertainers, this is the perfect look for the occasion.

Master P and his sons Mercy Miller and Hercy Miller, made a poor choice of footwear at the 2026 BETs.

Master P and his baller son wore Moneyatti sneakers, a brand founded and owned by the "I Miss My Homies" hitmaker, while Hercy is donning Burberry Arthur hiking-style shoes. While sneakers with a suit is a combo that can work, these sneakers do not. X agreed, with one user pleading, "WTF!!! Put some dress shoes on!"

Janet Jackson'a fashion fails may haunt her forever, but her look at the 2026 BET Awards showed she knows how to dress, with a Tupac t-shirt adding some contrast to the smart shirt, pinstripe trousers, and fedora-wedding veil combo.

The thing that unites the "Escapade" singer's style is that you never know her next move. On one red carpet she could be wearing a maximalist look. The next, she could be minimalist. At the 2026 BETs, it looked like she couldn't decide on either, but it looked great.

While becoming the youngest person ever to host the BET Awards in 2026, Druski performed a catalogue of his greatest hits, from his viral Megachurch pastor character to holding Coulda Been Records Audition. But the purple suit he wore on the red carpet of the BETs certainly won't go down as a classic.

The suit jacket had sparkles cascading down the shoulders, which gave the impression the suit had been rained on, and, more damningly, the trousers didn't fit well. We'll give Druski grace, as it's still early days for the internet superstar.

"You can wear black at any time," said one of rap's favourite designers, Christian Dior (via Another Magazine). "You can wear it at any age. You may wear it for almost any occasion." Indeed, simple black suiting is all you need.

Rick Ross showed that was the case in a simple suit and casual black tee. His trousers fell elegantly over his patent-leather boots, and monochrome is as chic as it comes. As expected for someone who has a $4 million timepiece collection, he added a luxe accessory: a rose-gold watch.

Despite some jaw-dropping jewelry, Flo Milli's dress left a lot to be desired and, seemingly, a lot of fabric on the cutting room floor. On her top half, the "Never Lose Me" rapper's dress looked pretty complete, but below the belt, loose film-like strips of fabric fell down to the ground. It looked like the designer had run out of time before a fitting and handed over a half-finished dress.

"It's more of an edgy vibe," Milli told Entertainment Tonight on the red carpet. Well, there's a fine line between edgy and unfinished.

It's hard to think of a star with as many iconic outfits in such a short time as Doechii. Whether it's her Thom Browne looks at the 2025 Grammys or Louis Vuitton at the Met Gala, the "Anxiety" rapper knows how to dress. Her looks at the 2026 BET Awards kept up her generational run.

On the red carpet, she wore a brown crocheted dress by Dsquared2 with an elongated drooping train that was Y2K and, in the best way, wild. But that wasn't the only great outfit Doechii wore that night (more on that later).

Some fashion juxtapositions just work, like a floral dress with a biker jacket or sweatpants paired with heels. But French Montana's leather construction-style pants that he wore at the 2026 BET Awards were a style clash too far.

While performing "Ever Since U Left Me" and "Minks in Miami" with Max B and Rick Ross, Montana's trousers had nowhere to hide and accentuated how bizarre a choice the pants were. Perhaps it's their impracticability on a construction site or inappropriateness for an awards show, but something is just off about these pants.

While Gap may not be a brand you'd associate with red carpets, Chase Infiniti pulled it off at the 2026 BET Awards. Courtesy of Gap's creative director Zac Posen, the "One Battle After Another" starlet's dress was a brilliant reworking of the brand's early 21st-century sweater.

"It merges two defining ideas of the '90s into a modern summer silhouette that feels fresh, effortless, and unmistakably Gap," Posen said of the look, via WWD. "[Infiniti] brought a confidence and modernity that made it feel completely of the moment." We couldn't put it better ourselves.

In a lilac three-piece suit, navy shirt, and orange sunglasses, the singer-songwriter Eric Benet looked like he was in need of a color wheel. Although harmony was present when he sang "Killing Me Softly" impromptu with Durand Bernarr on the red carpet, there was none of it in this outfit. Well, at least he was staying true to himself, because this might look even worse on someone else.

For those looking to learn, here's how to rock the color-blocking fashion trend.

"The red [looks] tea," one X user wrote of the ensemble Kehlani wore when performing her hit "Folded" at the 2026 BET Awards. "Kehlani the woman that you are," wrote another X poster. It's high praise, indeed, and thoroughly deserved.

She wore a deconstructed red dress that looked somewhat as if it had been through a fire. Quite fitting, as when her performance reached its crescendo, flames glowed on the LED screen behind her. It was her final big performance of the song, and what an outfit to do it in.

Lauryn Hill was honored at the 2026 BETs with the Living Legend Icon Award. However, her outfit was not quite befitting of such a title.

Instead, her look consisted of a dress with large billowing sleeves and she accessorized with almost equally large visor sunglasses. This made the "Doo Wop (That Thing)" singer look as if she was about to jump out of a helicopter, not deliver classic late '90s R 'n' B tunes. We usually expect quality from the former Fugees band member. 

As of 2025, Gucci has been under the creative direction of Demna. While his early designs polarized and puzzled fashionistas, Keke Palmer's 2026 BET Awards show outfit proved the Italian fashion house still has it.

Palmer wore a black bejeweled gown from the Generation Gucci collection, a collection inspired by the brand's heritage, with silver double "G" shaped earrings peeking out under her braided hair. It was playful, extravagant, and stylish, all watchwords of the Gucci brand. Or, as an X user put it, "The face, the dress, the hair... Keke never misses." 

Unlike Rick Ross' all-black ensemble, Jamie Foxx's black suit was doing too much. And, unlike Keke Palmer, he didn't go for a subtle Gucci look. His black suit and shirt were covered in the brand's iconic monogram pattern, and it was giving gaudy.

Perhaps Foxx's mind was less focused on his wardrobe and more on his performance later in the night with his daughter, Anelise Bishop. So, we'll let him off on this one.

In a crimson Stéphane Rolland gown, Teyana Taylor made a statement at the 2026 BET Awards. She wore a padded headpiece with a strapless and sculptural dress that would be among the best outfits at any awards show. The addition of crystal accents on her headpiece and the front of the bodice was the cherry on top of this almost cherry-colored dress.

Taylor was there to pick up the Icon of the Year trophy. Judging by this look, it's an award richly deserved.

JaNa Craig rocked up to the BET Awards red carpet in a dress so befuddling in its design it looks like she time-travelled to the 2076 BET Awards to pick it up. The bodice of the gown looked like armor used by an army in a science fiction flick, with it's strange-shaped padding, while her straight-cut train looked simple.

Unfortunately, Craig's look, to borrow "Love Island" parlance, gave us the ick.

If Kelly Rowland gave us a female throwback to Studio 54, then Johnny Geter's look was its male equivalent. Looking all "Saturday Night Fever," Geter wore a velvet suit jacket and flared black trousers courtesy of Sergio Hudson with Saint Laurent boots fit for strutting on the dance floor.

The pièce de résistance of the outfit was the white draping fabric over the shoulders, which mimicked a towel. It's one thing to cosplay Studio 54, but it's another to look like you've truly lived it. Geter's fit did the latter.

Jimmy Jam is a snappy dresser, but he let himself down with his footwear at the 2026 BET Awards. Like Master P and his two sons, Jam was wearing his tried and tested all-black suit, tie, and fedora hat, but, inexplicably, he also put sneakers on his feet.

Jam's sneakers weren't some high-end Dries Van Noten or toothpaste-white leather kicks that may have fitted better with a suit. Instead, they looked like the type of shoe you'd have to wear if you forgot your shoes in high school gym class.

While collecting the BET Her Award for the song "Girl, Get Up" alongside fellow superstar SZA, the Tampa-born singer brought he signature flair to the little black dress in her second great outfit at the ceremony. 

The dress, which was archival Roberto Cavalli from 2006, had a velvet bralet above black flowery texturing with lace detailing between. There are many ways to dress up your little black dress. But here, Doechii reinvented the look completely. "Tens across the board," an Instagram commenter remarked. Tens from us too!

The actor and comic Kym Whitley wore more of an after-work drinks ensemble than an awards show design to the 2026 BETs. Her brown zebra-printed pantsuit looked like something picked off the rail at TJ Maxx, with a wafer-thin material that appears less than high end.

Although this specific print has been reintroduced into wardrobes by fashionistas as of spring 2026, Whitley's iteration of it looked tacky — as did her golden heels, which stood out like a sore thumb (or, sore toe?) beneath her skirt.