Jennifer Hudson stunned on the red carpet at the 2025 BET Awards in Los Angeles on June 9, and soon after when she took the stage as well.
The American Idol alum and talk show host, 43, was one of the singers chosen to perform and honor Jamie Foxx, who was presented with the Ultimate Icon award.
For the big night, instead of bringing her partner Common as her date, the host of The Jennifer Hudson Show opted to have her son David Daniel Otunga Jr. by her side, with the pair even going for matching outfits.
© Getty ImagesJennifer wore a stunning and timeless Gaurav Gupta black gown, complete with structured shoulders and a high slit. She paired the look with sparkly black heels and oodles of diamonds in her necklace and earrings.
David, 15, matched his mother's vibe completely in a solid black suit, featuring a blazer, a button down, pants and black boots embossed with spikes. He also wore a glimmering chain that gave a similar energy to his mom's.
For the actual performance, Jennifer changed out of her gown into something more functional, going with a velvet tuxedo minidress. She even shared a clip of her performance for her friend Jamie on Instagram, writing in her caption: "The Ultimate Icon that you are! We love you, Jamie!!!"
© Getty ImagesFans were extremely complimentary of Jennifer's performance, inundating her post with comments like: "You showed up and turned that stage out!!! YOU'RE A LEGEND!" and: "This was the greatest award show performance I've seen in years! Phenomenal!" as well as: "You shut it ALLL the way down! From one Oscar winner to another! LEGENDS ONLY."
The 2025 BET Awards were hosted by Kevin Hart, with Jamie being one of four Ultimate Icon recipients, the others being Kirk Franklin, Snoop Dogg and Mariah Carey.
© Getty ImagesKendrick Lamar, the night's most nominated artist was also the night's most awarded, walking home with five prizes, followed by two each for SZA and Chris Brown, although Best Female Hip Hop Artist winner Doechii attracted the most attention for her viral speech, calling out the response to the ongoing immigration protests in Los Angeles.
Jennifer was one of eight artists included in the Jamie Foxx tribute, the others being Ludacris, Babyface, Craig Robinson, Tank, Doug E. Fresh, T-Pain and Teddy Riley.
© Getty ImagesThe pair go way back, nearly two decades. Jennifer and Jamie starred together in the 2006 film adaptation of the Broadway classic Dreamgirls, also including Beyoncé and Eddie Murphy.
The movie was Jennifer's screen debut, coming fresh off of her controversial seventh place elimination on season three of American Idol (which was won by Fantasia Barrino, who also auditioned for Dreamgirls).
© Getty ImagesThe film and her performance in it as Effie White (most notably her rendition of "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going") received critical acclaim, and eventually won her an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, two years after Jamie received his own Best Actor Oscar for 2004's Ray.
