Teyana Taylor delivered an awe-inspiring speech at the 2026 BET Awards.
At the Peacock Theatre in Los Angeles on Sunday, June 28, the 35-year-old American singer-songwriter and actress was honoured with the Icon of the Year Award.
After receiving the award from Janet Jackson, Taylor applauded her for not rushing to present her the award and emphasized the importance of supporting one another in an industry like Hollywood.
She began, “Tonight they handed me a title, and that title is Icon of the Year. And for a little minute I wondered if I was supposed to feel uncomfortable saying that title out loud.”
“I’m not accepting what I’ve earned with arrogance, I’m accepting what I’ve earned with gratitude,” the One Battle After Another star added.
Taylor, who has been working for twenty years, stated that she helped others build their dreams while building her own, as she believes “there’s room for all of us to win.”
“Even if that means pouring from my own cup into someone else’s, so they can overflow, not because I had to, but because that’s just who I am,” she quipped. “That’s pretty damn iconic, if you ask me.”
“Because this business can be very wicked. This business is wicked, you know. It teaches us to compete, but I’ve never believed that my success had to call someone else’s theirs.”
“If I know something, I should teach it. If I open a door, I should hold it. If I have a platform, I should make room for another voice,” Taylor explained.
“Because I believe greatness isn’t measured by how many people stand beneath you, it’s measured by how many people stand beside you because you’re willing to reach back, that’s the only legacy I care about. So tonight I will wear this title loud and proud because I promise to continue to earn it,” she claimed.
It is pertinent to mention that Teyana Taylor won Best Actress, Best Video Director of the Year, and Best Video of the Year Awards at the BET Awards 2026.
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