BET ANNOUNCES OFFICIAL NOMINATIONS FOR THE "BET AWARDS" 2020

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CBS JOINS AS BROADCAST PARTNER TO SIMULCAST THE "BET AWARDS" 2020 SET TO AIR ON SUNDAY, JUNE 28 FROM 8:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT

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DRAKE LEADS WITH SIX NOMINATIONS MEGAN THEE STALLION AND RODDY RICCH FOLLOW WITH FIVE NOMINATIONS

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BEYONCÉ, NICKI MINAJ, CHRIS BROWN, LIZZO AND DABABY TIE WITH FOUR NOMINATIONS EACH

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#BETAWARDS

New York, NY (June 15, 2020) - Today, BET announces The "BET Awards" 2020 nominees with Drake leading the pack with six nominations. This year's nominees reflect an abundance of creative expression and black excellence across music, television, film, sports, and philanthropy. The "BET AWARDS" 2020 will simulcast LIVE at 8 pm ET across ViacomCBS networks including BET, BET HER, and will make its national broadcast premiere on CBS on Sunday, June 28 (8:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT, 7:00-10:00 PM, CT).

Drake returns to the top spot securing six nods, including 'Best Male Hip Hop Artist,' 'Video of the Year,' and two nods for both 'Best Collaboration' and 'Viewer's Choice' for his features alongside Chris Brown (No Guidance) and Future (Life Is Good).

Newcomers Megan Thee Stallion and Roddy Ricch garnered the second most nods with five nominations each. Megan Thee Stallion nominations include 'Best Female Hip Hop,' 'Best Collaboration,' 'Video of the Year,' 'Album of the Year,' and 'Viewer's Choice Award.' Roddy Ricch's nods include 'Best Male Hip Hop,' 'Video of the Year,' 'Best New Artist,' 'Album of the Year,' and 'Viewer's Choice Award.' Beyoncé, Nicki Minaj, Chris Brown, Lizzo, and DaBaby are the third-highest with four nominations each.

In its twentieth year, the "BET AWARDS" continues its reign as the ultimate platform to showcase the best and most beautiful aspects of the Black experience - celebrating Black music's present and future, and elevating the culture and being a driving force for social change. BET recognizes artists, entertainers, and athletes across 21 categories with The "BET Awards" 2020 nominations. The nominations are selected by BET's Voting Academy, which is composed of fans and an esteemed group of entertainment professionals in the fields of television, film, music, social media, digital marketing, sports journalism, public relations, and creative arts.

Internationally, the show will simulcast on BET Africa at 2am CAT on June 29th, followed by international broadcasts in the UK on June 29th at 9pm BST, France on June 30th at 8:45pm CEST and in South Korea on June 30th at 9pm KST.

The complete list of nominees for The "BET AWARDS" 2020 are:

BEST FEMALE R&B/POP ARTIST
BEYONCÉ
H.E.R.
JHENE AIKO
KEHLANI
LIZZO
SUMMER WALKER

BEST MALE R&B/POP ARTIST
ANDERSON .PAAK
CHRIS BROWN
JACQUEES
KHALID
THE WEEKND
USHER

BEST GROUP
CHLOE X HALLE
CITY GIRLS
EARTHGANG
GRISELDA
JACKBOYS
MIGOS

BEST COLLABORATION
CHRIS BROWN FT. DRAKE NO GUIDANCE
DJ KHALED FT. NIPSEY HUSSLE & JOHN LEGEND HIGHER
FUTURE FT. DRAKE LIFE IS GOOD
H.E.R. FT. YG SLIDE
MEGAN THEE STALLION FT. NICKI MINAJ & TY DOLLA $IGN HOT GIRL SUMMER
WALE FT. JEREMIH ON CHILL

BEST MALE HIP HOP ARTIST
DABABY
DRAKE
FUTURE
LIL BABY
RODDY RICCH
TRAVIS SCOTT

BEST FEMALE HIP HOP ARTIST
CARDI B
DOJA CAT
LIZZO
MEGAN THEE STALLION
NICKI MINAJ
SAWEETIE

VIDEO OF THE YEAR
CHRIS BROWN FT. DRAKE NO GUIDANCE
DABABY BOP
DJ KHALED FT. NIPSEY HUSSLE & JOHN LEGEND HIGHER
DOJA CAT SAY SO
MEGAN THEE STALLION FT. NICKI MINAJ & TY DOLLA $IGN HOT GIRL SUMMER
RODDY RICCH THE BOX

VIDEO DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR
BENNY BOOM
COLE BENNETT
DAVE MEYERS
DIRECTOR X
EIF RIVERA
TEYANA "SPIKE TEE" TAYLOR

BEST NEW ARTIST
DANILEIGH
LIL NAS X
POP SMOKE
RODDY RICCH
SUMMER WALKER
YBN CORDAE

ALBUM OF THE YEAR
CUZ I LOVE YOU LIZZO
FEVER MEGAN THEE STALLION
HOMECOMING: THE LIVE ALBUM BEYONCÉ
I USED TO KNOW HER H.E.R.
KIRK DABABY
PLEASE EXCUSE ME FOR BEING ANTISOCIAL RODDY RICCH

DR. BOBBY JONES BEST GOSPEL/INSPIRATIONAL AWARD
FRED HAMMOND ALRIGHT
JOHN P. KEE FT. ZACARDI CORTEZ I MADE IT OUT
KANYE WEST FOLLOW GOD
KIRK FRANKLIN JUST FOR ME
PJ MORTON FT. LE'ANDRIA JOHNSON & MARY MARY ALL IN HIS PLAN
THE CLARK SISTERS VICTORY

BEST ACTRESS
ANGELA BASSETT
CYNTHIA ERIVO
ISSA RAE
REGINA KING
TRACEE ELLIS ROSS
ZENDAYA

BEST ACTOR
BILLY PORTER
EDDIE MURPHY
FOREST WHITAKER
JAMIE FOXX
MICHAEL B. JORDAN
OMARI HARDWICK

YOUNGSTARS AWARD
ALEX HIBBERT
ASANTE BLACKK
JAHI DI'ALLO WINSTON
MARSAI MARTIN
MILES BROWN
STORM REID

BEST MOVIE
BAD BOYS FOR LIFE
DOLEMITE IS MY NAME
HARRIET
HOMECOMING: A FILM BY BEYONCÉ
JUST MERCY
QUEEN & SLIM

SPORTSWOMAN OF THE YEAR
AJEÉ WILSON
CLARESSA SHIELDS
COCO GAUFF
NAOMI OSAKA
SERENA WILLIAMS
SIMONE BILES

SPORTSMAN OF THE YEAR
GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPO
KAWHI LEONARD
LEBRON JAMES
ODELL BECKHAM JR.
PATRICK MAHOMES II
STEPHEN CURRY

BET HER AWARD
ALICIA KEYS UNDERDOG
BEYONCÉ FT. BLUE IVY CARTER, WIZKID & SAINT JHN BROWN SKIN GIRL
CIARA FT. LUPITA NYONG'O, ESTER DEAN, CITY GIRLS & LA LA MELANIN
LAYTON GREENE I CHOOSE
LIZZO FT. MISSY ELLIOT TEMPO
RAPSODY FT. PJ MORTON AFENI

VIEWER'S CHOICE AWARD
CHRIS BROWN FT. DRAKE NO GUIDANCE
DABABY BOP
FUTURE FT. DRAKE LIFE IS GOOD
MEGAN THEE STALLION FT. NICKI MINAJ HOT GIRL SUMMER
RODDY RICCH THE BOX
THE WEEKND HEARTLESS

BEST INTERNATIONAL ACT
BURNA BOY (NIGERIA)
INNOSS'B (DRC)
SHO MADJOZI (S. AFRICA)
DAVE (U.K.)
STORMZY (U.K.)
NINHO (FRANCE)
S.PRI NOIR (FRANCE)

VIEWERS' CHOICE:

BEST NEW INTERNATIONAL ACT
REMA (NIGERIA)
SHA SHA (ZIMBABWE)
CELESTE (U.K.)
YOUNG T & BUGSEY (U.K.)
HATIK (FRANCE)
STACY (FRANCE)

Connie Orlando, EVP of Specials, Music Programming & Music Strategy at BET and Jesse Collins, CEO of Jesse Collins Entertainment serves as Executive Producers for The "BET Awards" 2020 broadcast special.

For the latest The "BET AWARDS" 2020 news and updates, please visit BET.com/Awards.

ABOUT BET NETWORKS

BET, a subsidiary of ViacomCBS Inc. (NASDAQ: VIACA, VIAC), is the nation's leading provider of quality entertainment, music, news, and public affairs television programming for the African-American audience. The primary BET channel is in 90 million households and can be seen in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, the United Kingdom, sub-Saharan Africa, and France. BET is the dominant African-American consumer brand with a diverse group of business extensions including BET.com, a leading Internet destination for Black entertainment, music, culture, and news; BET HER, a 24-hour entertainment network targeting the African-American Woman; BET Music Networks - BET Jams, BET Soul and BET Gospel; BET Home Entertainment; BET Live, BET's growing festival business; BET Mobile, which provides ringtones, games and video content for wireless devices; and BET International, which operates BET around the globe.

ABOUT "BET AWARDS"

The "BET Awards" is one of the most watched award shows on cable television according to the Nielsen Company. The "BET Awards" franchise remains as the #1 program in cable TV history among African-Americans, and it is BET's #1 telecast every year. It recognizes the triumphs and successes of artists, entertainers, and athletes in a variety of categories.

ABOUT JESSE COLLINS ENTERTAINMENT

Jesse Collins Entertainment (JCE) is a full service television and film production company founded by entertainment industry veteran, NAACP Image(R) Award winner and Emmy(R) Award nominee Jesse Collins. For more than a decade, the company has played an integral role in producing some of television's most memorable moments in music entertainment. JCE produced the critically acclaimed biopic The New Edition Story, the story on the boy band that aired as a 3-part mini-series and posted record ratings for BET and attracted nearly 30 million viewers. It was followed by The Bobby Brown Story, which chronicled the talented but troubled singer's exit from the popular '80s boy band through his solo success, and was the highest rated non-tentpole program on the network since The New Edition Story. The next mini-series for JCE is Uptown, a 3-part original scripted miniseries for BET that will chronicle the story of producer Andre Harrell's iconic record label, Uptown Records. The company's current scripted TV series is American Soul, the story about the struggle to make the dream of Soul Train, the first nationally-syndicated Black music show, come true. It ended its first season as the #1 new cable scripted drama for African Americans 18-49 and its second season debuts in May 2020. Previously, JCE produced BET's hit TV series Real Husbands of Hollywood starring Kevin Hart that ran for 5 seasons. On the unscripted side, JCE produces annual live specials - the BET Awards, Soul Train Awards and the BET Hip Hop Awards. Past credits include Black Girls Rock!, UNCF's An Evening of Stars, ABFF Honors, BET Honors, Love & Happiness: An Obama Farewell, VH1's Dear Mama, HBO's Amanda Seales I Be Knowin;' Netflix's Def Comedy Jam 25 and Leslie Jones: Time Machine. JCE's game shows include VH1's Hip Hop Squares with Ice Cube and CMT's Nashville Squares. Its music competition series on BET, Sunday Best is now in its 10th season and Netflix's Rhythm & Flow featuring judges Tip "T.I." Harris, Cardi B and Chance the Rapper will soon begin production on its second season that will air in 2021. Collins is also a producer for The Grammy Awards. He was on Billboard's R&B/Hip-Hop 100 Power Players list, has been featured on the cover of Vibe magazine and in numerous publications including Ebony magazine's Power 100 issue. Go to http://www.jessecollinsent.com/ for more information on the company.