On Monday, June 9, 2025, Mariah Carey was one of four giants in entertainment to receive the Ultimate Icon Award at the 2025 BET Awards in Los Angeles, California. Welcomed to the stage by her friend and longtime collaborator, Busta Rhymes, Carey not only celebrated the other three recipients of the award, but she also offered a few words of advice for others following in her footsteps.
“I’m so grateful to all of you for celebrating it with me tonight,” she told the crowd at Microsoft Theater. I just want to encourage everyone out there to believe in yourself, love [yourself] and respect yourself. Be a diva. Be a boss. Be anything you want to be, but be iconic while you’re doing it. Thank you so much. I love you.”
Joining Kirk Franklin, Snoop Dogg and Jamie Foxx, Carey is one of four recipients to receive the Ultimate Icon Award at the 2025 BET Awards. The award celebrates each entertainer’s “decades of groundbreaking contributions to music, entertainment, advocacy, and community impact.”
“Mariah Carey is an author, entrepreneur, philanthropist, producer, and multiple award- winning artist and songwriter. She is the best-selling female artist of all time with more than 200 million albums sold to date and 19 Billboard Hot 100 #1 singles (18 of which are self-penned) – more than any solo artist in history,” a statement from BET reads. “With her distinct five-octave vocal range, prolific songwriting, and producing talent, Carey is truly the template of the modern pop performance.”
