Jamie Foxx delivered an emotional speech at the 2025 BET Awards. He expressed gratitude for the “second chance” he was given after a serious health scare in 2023. “I gotta be honest, when I saw the ‘In Memoriam,’ I was like, ‘Man, that could have been me,'” Foxx told the audience.
“I don’t know why I went through what I went through, but I know my second chance, I’m not going to turn down… I have so much love to give.”
Foxx thanked his two daughters for their support. He spoke of his younger daughter, Anelise, who snuck into his hospital room with her guitar when he was fighting for his life.
“Anelise overheard the conversation, snuck into my hospital room with her guitar, and said, ‘I know what my Daddy needs,'” Foxx recounted. While accepting the award for Best Female Hip-Hop Artist, Doechii addressed the ongoing protests against the Trump administration’s immigration raids. “There are ruthless attacks that are creating fear and chaos in our communities in the name of law and order,” the rapper said.
“President Trump is using military forces to stop a protest.
Jamie Foxx’s second chance honored
And I want y’all to consider what kind of government it appears to be when every time we exercise our democratic right to protest, the military is deployed against us.”
Mariah Carey hit the stage for a performance of “Type Dangerous,” the leading single off her forthcoming 16th studio album.
She then launched into her 2005, Grammy-nominated track “It’s Like That.”
Leon Thomas, the 31-year-old singer-songwriter who previously starred on Nickelodeon’s Victorious, won Best New Artist. “My grandfather always used to tell me, ‘Music is a team sport,’ and I want to thank God first and foremost for coaching my life,” Thomas said. Snoop Dogg, also accepting the Ultimate Icon Award, honored his wife Shante Broadus.
“Now, you see, this is why I’m so rock solid,” he said. “This is why I’m able to deal with all the things that I’m able to deal with. I got God in my life, and I got a queen in my life, right.
And no matter what, she held me down, she holds me down. She’s been there for me. She’s always been my everything.”
The 2025 BET Awards celebrated Black excellence across the entertainment industry with several artists winning big, hitting the stage for noteworthy performances, and giving moving acceptance speeches.
