Amanda Seales To Host 2020 BET Awards Following Her Exit From ‘The Real’
Amanda Seales announced she will be hosting the 2020 BET Awards on Sunday, June 28.
The actress and comedian shared her new gig with her 1.5 million Instagram followers on Monday, June 15. In the post, Seales wore a white collared dress with a deep split at the center. Her blond hair was styled in a low bun as she beamed for the camera. She also added big, gold hoop earrings to the look and painted her nails white as well.
Quoting Maya Angelou, Seales wrote “Still I Rise” in the post’s caption.
Following the post, Seales received more than 60,000 likes from her fans. Over 100 commenters also shared their excitement of seeing Seales host the much-anticipated awards show. Several celebrities left positive messages on Seales’ timeline, including MC Lyte, Mandy Moore, Kyla Pratt, Jemele Hill, and Seales’ former The Real co-host Loni Love.
The BET Awards will be Seales’ latest venture since announcing she will no longer be a part of The Real. After joining hosts Love, Tamera Mowry-Housely, Adrienne Houghton, and Jeannie Mai in January, Seales shared on June 4 that she wouldn’t be renewing her contract. She said she didn’t feel comfortable fully expressing her views on the show, though many fans felt there was behind-the-scenes drama with her co-stars. However, Seales swiftly shut down those rumors shortly after making the announcement.
In addition to her hosting jobs, Seales plays Tiffany DuBois in HBO’s Insecure.
According to Billboard, CBS is slated to partner with BET to air the awards show for the first time in history. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the ceremony and its pre-show will also be taped virtually. For the interactive pre-show, BET enlisted former 106 & Park host Terrence J and Erica Ash to co-host the show, which will also include the nominees and performers for the evening.
In addition to announcing its host, BET’s executives also revealed its first round of performers. Some of the artists slated to make an appearance include Megan Thee Stallion, Roddy Ricch, Alicia Keys, Chloe x Halle, DaBaby, D Smoke, Jennifer Hudson, John Legend, Jonathan McReynolds, Kane Brown, Lil Wayne, SiR, Summer Walker, and Usher.
Connie Orlando, EVP Specials, Music Programming and Music Strategy for BET, released a statement about the event and said it’s necessary now more than ever.
“BET was created to stand at the forefront of black culture. We have made strides over the past two decades to create a space where black creativity, culture, and art have the opportunity to get the celebration it deserves in a world where it is systematically muted,” Orlando said. “This year we’re looking forward to continuing the tradition of providing fans with those special, not to be missed moments of enrichment, entertainment, empowerment and also using our platform to create change for our community.”
