TDE Punch President Criticizes Druski for Interrupting SZA and Doechii’s Speech at the BET Awards 2026
A rare and controversial incident occurred at the BET Awards 2026 ceremony on Sunday evening, June 28th. When two stars from Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE), SZA and Doechii, took the stage to receive the “BET Her Award” for their collaborative hit “Girl, Get Up,” they were unexpectedly interrupted by the organizers using music to force them off the stage.
The incident quickly caused a stir among the record label’s leadership and the fan community. The source of the controversy stemmed from a scripted “trick” initiated by comedian Druski – who hosted the event this year. Before the official awards ceremony began, Druski announced a warning to the artists that the ban on the event would impose strict time limits.
Each person had only 30 seconds to speak, and if they exceeded that time, saxophone artist Kenneth Whalum would directly go on stage and play his saxophone to subtly “kick them out.” Ironically, SZA and Doechii were the first “victims” of this prank. Because the two female artists’ meaningful acceptance speeches lasted longer than the allotted time, the saxophone blasts became incredibly loud and incessant right next to them.
On live television, Doechii couldn’t hide her displeasure and displayed a visibly annoyed attitude, while SZA tried to remain calm to deliver her final words before having to leave the stage.
Immediately after this incident, Punch – the president of TDE Records – became angry and defended his artists on social media (Twitter). He directly criticized the host with extremely harsh words: “This Druski guy is weird with that saxophone thing, whether it’s BET’s fault or whoever’s to blame. It’s the behavior of an eccentric.” Although Punch quickly deleted the post shortly afterward, the online community quickly reposted and shared it at lightning speed.
A large segment of the online community sided with TDE, arguing that Druski’s actions were completely wrong and disrespectful, especially since SZA and Doechii were sharing inspirational messages at a major cultural event like the BET Awards. Conversely, many defended Druski’s space, asserting that it was just a harmless, pre-planned prank and that music awards using music to limit speaking time is perfectly normal.
