Kym Whitley brought her 15-year-old son, Joshua Whitley, as her date to the 2026 BET Awards on June 28 in Los Angeles.
For Joshua, the evening was especially memorable because it was his first time attending the annual awards show.
“I’m excited to see just a bunch of new people and a lot of new faces,” he told Entertainment Tonight on the red carpet.
Joshua also had the chance to meet Rick Ross, who offered the teen a few words of encouragement.
“He just said to follow my footsteps, and if I need anything from him, call him,” Joshua shared.
Whitley appreciated the rapper taking the time to encourage her son.
“He really poured into him,” she said. “I don’t know Rick Ross personally, but I love him forever. He was so kind.”
The actress and comedian said bringing Joshua to the BET Awards was about more than just attending another red carpet event.
“Especially to have Joshua here for culture’s biggest night, it is very special,” she said. “At 15 years old, I thought this would be a great thing for him to see, to be inspired, to see Nicki Minaj on stage.”
One person Joshua was especially hoping to see was internet personality Druski.
“I’m excited to see him tonight because I watch a lot of his videos, and he’s really funny to me,” he said.
Whitley adopted Joshua in 2011 after receiving a life-changing phone call from a hospital asking whether she would adopt the newborn son of a young woman she had mentored for more than a decade.
The comedian previously told Essence that although she had always dreamed of becoming a mother, she never imagined it would happen that way.
“I was not ready for motherhood at all. But God laughs at our plans,” she said.
With just one hour to make the decision, Whitley turned to her parents for guidance.
“My mother looked at me and she was like, ‘You’ve always wanted a baby! Go get that baby!'” she recalled during an appearance on The Ellen Show in 2014. “So, there it is. I took the baby!”
Looking back, Whitley has no regrets.
“Whether you get pregnant, adopt, sometimes it just happens,” she told Essence. “Sometimes you just gotta roll with life. You’ve got to snatch it up and say, ‘I’m going to close my eyes and I’m just going to say yes.'”
