The BET Awards suffered a mishap during their 'in memoriam' segment last night when they paid tribute to a man who is still alive.

The annual ceremony, which celebrates the best of black entertainment, was held virtually for the first time due to the coronavirus pandemic and broadcast live on US network CBS.

The 'in memoriam' video reel featured a number of black entertainers who died over the last year, including music legend Bill Withers and actress Diahann Carroll - as well as 'Willie Lewis Brown Jr, Politician'.

Brown, the former Mayor of San Francisco, is still alive and aged 86, and later admitted that news of his death had come as a shock to him.

"I couldn't figure out why the phone was all lit up," he told the SF Chronicle. "Finally, my niece called and she was pissed off - she said, 'If you're going to die, you're supposed to tell me.'"

Awards organisers are thought to have confused the politician with former Oakland Raiders cornerback Willie Brown, who died at the age of 78 last October.