Druski, whose name is Drew Desbordes, didn't take the traditional route to stardom. 

Born in Columbia, Maryland, and raised in Gwinnett County, Georgia, he enrolled at Georgia Southern University as a sports analytics major with plans to become a sportscaster. That dream didn't last. After struggling with depression and leaving school, he moved back into his mother's house and started posting comedy skits on Instagram in 2017. Within a few years, he was in Drake's music videos, opening tours for Jack Harlow, and building one of the most loyal audiences in digital media. The world came to know him as Druski, and he’s been soaring ever since.

Now 31, Druski has been tapped to host the 2026 BET Awards on June 28 at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, making him the youngest host in the show's history. He edged out Kevin Hart, who held that title when he hosted in 2011. He's also the first comedian whose fame was built entirely on the internet to hold the role. This distinction says as much about where culture lives now as it does about Druski himself.

His résumé at this point is hard to argue with. He’s made both the Forbes' 30 Under 30 list and Rolling Stone's Most Influential Creator list. In 2025, he became the first comedian to grace the cover of Billboard's No. 1s issue, where Hart — the man whose record he's now breaking — called him the voice of his generation. His "Coulda Been Records" franchise turned Instagram live streams into sold-out live shows. His brand partnerships span Google, KFC, and Adidas. He is, by any measure, no longer just an internet comedian.

The BET Awards are not only a celebration of culture’s biggest night, it’s also culture’s biggest stage. Many hosts of the past have used that very stage to show off what made audiences fall in love with them in the first place. Druski will most certainly uphold this tradition. “I grew up watching the BET Awards and, to know the comedic legends that hosted before me set the bar so high, I’m just grateful to be a part of the history. BUT I’m still bringing my brand of comedy to the stage, so expect a little chaos, a lot of laughs, and some of your favorite Druski characters to pop out along the way,” he said in a statement.

If you build it, they will come. And given what Druski has built from his mother’s house with a phone camera, it’s clear that “they” will come and watch him host the 2026 BET Awards on June 28 at 8 p.m. EST.