It’s been more than a year since Cardi B graced an awards show stage. She’s been a busy girl in that time, releasing her sophomore album Am I The Drama?, having another baby, and going on a sold out arena tour.

Her performance at the BET Awards was teased early on and came up a lot on the red carpet, which Cardi skipped, likely for dramatic effect and so that her performance would be the main event.

Cardi performed a medley of tracks from the new album including “Hello”, “Check Please”, “Errtime” and “Pretty & Petty”. The latter is a diss song toward BIA and one that many fans were discussing, whether she’d go there and perform it live on TV. She did. But that now viral lyric, “name five BIA, gun pointin’ to your head”, wasn’t even the most savage moment of the performance. Cardi’s dancers pulled out all of her BET Awards during the line “Do she even got a BET Award?”, adding extra insult to injury. Few moments still make me gasp but that got one out of me. You just know that that moment was planned the moment Cardi was writing those bars in the studio. Crafting a solid diss record is truly an art, and between Kendrick Lamar and Cardi B, we’ve been spoiled with great ones.  

But BIA wasn’t the only target. Latto caught a stray too. Fans noticed that Cardi avoided saying Latto’s name during her verse in “Errtime”. The two have been in something of a feud since a leaked voicemail last September showed Cardi talking sh-t. Latto eventually called her out on her album which was released last month, bringing the whole thing back up. Latto was in attendance last night as well, so her omission from the song could be to avoid any further disagreements. Guess the blood is still sour. Cardi was the #2 trending topic on X in the United States following her performance, and just like everything she does, it’s still taking over social media feeds. Everything from the motorcycle she rode in on, to the stripper pole she danced on trended on social media.

Cardi is a walking viral meme, and she gave us more moments when she accepted her award for Best Female Hip-Hop Artist. This marks the third time she’s won in that category having previously won in 2018 and 2019. At this point it should be renamed in her honour. Hearing her end the speech saying “I love my babies, and I love Jesus” with that irresistible Cardi smile made me both chuckle and swoon. Just the way she said Jesus, you can’t help but crack a laugh, I just love her so much. Her name stays in the headlines, but her music is still appreciated. Last night’s ceremony was the pay-off after the many years of delays. As she said in her speech, she took the chance, released the music and now she’s a winner, again.  

Cardi ended the night celebrating at Legacy, a club in Los Angeles, posting an Instagram story that she was “getting drunk” on her one night out, followed by an IG live to recap the night with fans, but most notably, asking them not to bully BIA in the aftermath of the performance of “Pretty & Petty”. Leave it to Cardi to artistically eviscerate her nemesis on national television, and then say she doesn’t want to bully her. Cardi may be a ball of rainbows and sunshine, but she’ll always be quick to remind you why you don’t want want to be on her bad side.

Cardi B onstage at the BET Awards 2026 held at Peacock Theater on June 28, 2026 in Los Angeles, California

Cardi B onstage at the BET Awards 2026 held at Peacock Theater on June 28, 2026 in Los Angeles, California

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