Chadwick Boseman was posthumously honored with the outstanding supporting actor in a motion picture prize at the 52nd Annual NAACP Image Awards, which wrapped up its non-televised ceremony on Friday night.
While Boseman was honored for his performance in Spike Lee’s “Da 5 Bloods” on Friday, he is also nominated for his work in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” which won the award for outstanding ensemble cast in a motion picture. Boseman died on August 18, 2020, of cancer at the age of 43.
Phylicia Rashad, who coincidentally taught Boseman acting at Howard University, won the supporting actress prize for her work in “Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey.”
“Black-ish” continued to dominated the individual comedy series categories, with repeat wins for Anthony Anderson, Deon Cole and Marsai Martin, while “Insecure” won the top comedy prize.
“Insecure” creator and star Issa Rae accepted the award on behalf of the HBO series.
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“If you’re watching this and ‘Insecure’ just won best comedy series and I am hyped,” Rae began, shouting out fellow EPs Prentice Penny and Melina Matosoukas, DP Ava Berkovsky, the show’s writers, cast and crew for their talent and dedication.
To the fans, Rae added: “I just want to thank you guys so much for including us in your homes this trying, terrible past year. It has been hard, but you did not stop arguing about these characters, judging them, embracing them, loving them, and it’s truly an honor to grace your TV screens. … I cannot wait to bring you guys season five hopefully this year.”
Octavia Spencer accepted the Image Award on behalf of the “Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker” team, dedicating the outstanding television movie, limited-series or dramatic special award to Walker. Spencer was also recognized with the outstanding actress award for her work in the Netflix limited series and Blair Underwood won the actor prize.
Starz’ “Power Book II: Ghost” also collected a trio of prizes, winning outstanding drama series and earning individual honors for stars Mary J. Blige and Clifford “Method Man” Smith, who both nabbed their first Image Awards for acting with the win.
“Entertainment Tonight” host Nischelle Turner emceed all five nights of the webcast.
Anderson will host the 52nd NAACP Image Awards, which air live on BET on Saturday, March 27 at 8 p.m. ET/ 7 p.m. CT. The ceremony will be simulcast across ViacomCBS Networks including CBS, BET Her, VH1, MTV, MTV2, and LOGO.
The winners revealed during Friday’s ceremony include:
Outstanding Comedy Series
“Insecure”
Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series
Anthony Anderson – “black-ish”
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
Deon Cole – “black-ish”
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Marsai Martin – “black-ish”
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture
Chadwick Boseman – “Da 5 Bloods”
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture
Phylicia Rashad – “Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey”
Outstanding Ensemble Cast in a Motion Picture
“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”
Outstanding Breakthrough Performance in a Motion Picture
Madalen Mills – “Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey”
Outstanding Breakthrough Creative (Motion Picture)
Nadia Hallgren – “Becoming”
Outstanding Independent Motion Picture
“The Banker”
Outstanding International Motion Picture
“Night of the Kings”
Outstanding Drama Series
“Power Book II: Ghost”
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Clifford “Method Man” Smith – “Power Book II: Ghost”
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Mary J. Blige – “Power Book II: Ghost”
Outstanding Television Movie, Limited-Series or Dramatic Special
“Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker”
Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Limited-Series or Dramatic Special
Blair Underwood – “Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker”
Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Limited-Series or Dramatic Special
Octavia Spencer – “Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker”
Special Award – Key of Life
Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett
Special Award – Sports Award
Stephen Curry
Thursday, March 25:
In the music categories at the NAACP Image Awards, Beyoncé continues to be unparalleled.
Taking home four trophies during Thursday’s virtual ceremony, Beyoncé now has 20 Image awards, including entertainer of the year honors (which she won in 2004 and 2019).
The news follows Beyoncé’s record-breaking night at the Grammy Awards earlier this month, when she became the most awarded woman in Grammys history with 28 trophies.
Like the Grammys, Beyoncé shares her new Image awards with Megan Thee Stallion (winning outstanding contemporary duo, group of collaboration and hip hop/rap song for their “Savage Remix”), as well as WizKid, SAINt JHN, and her 9-year-old daughter Blue Ivy Carter (outstanding music music/visual album for “Brown Skin Girl”).
This marks the young Carter’s second NAACP Image Award win, after “Brown Skin Girl” picked up the outstanding duo/group prize at last year’s awards.
Beyoncé was nominated for seven Image awards altogether, including a double nomination in the music video/visual album category, with “Black is King” also earning a nod.
“Verzuz” bested “Black is King” in the outstanding variety show category, which was awarded on Wednesday night, while Chloe x Halle took home the outstanding soul/R&B song prize for their track “Do It” (up against Beyoncé’s “Black Parade”). Chloe x Halle also picked up the outstanding traditional duo, group or collaboration award.
Accepting the first honor, Chloe Bailey began, “This right here is the award that matters. It is here where we stand in the light of an organization that has spent decades supporting people of color, and issues that we still to this day continue to fight.”
“We are so proud to accept this award, not just for ourselves but for those who worked tirelessly to make our journey a little bit easier,” Halle Bailey continued.
After the sisters won their second award, Halle Bailey added: “It’s our job as this generation to lift up and encourage each other to keep fighting and keep making our voices heard.”
While thanking the fans “who made it possible for these two young women from Atlanta, Georgia to live a reality that for so long, only existed in our dreams and on our vision board,” Chloe Bailey also noted the makeshift venue from which the sisters have been filming their award show performances during the pandemic.
“Thank you for rocking with us during every performance on that tennis court,” she said.
Earlier in the day the NAACP announced that “Black-ish” star Anthony Anderson will return to host the Image Awards on Saturday night, emceeing awards ceremony for the eighth time. He first hosted the awards in 2014, and has hosted every year since.
The NAACP also announced that LeBron James will receive the prestigious President’s Award during the 52nd ceremony. The NBA superstar, entrepreneur, philanthropist and the star of the upcoming “Space Jam: A New Legacy’ is also nominated for the NAACP social justice impact award, alongside White House corespondent April Ryan, legendary entertainer Debbie Allen, politician and voting rights activist Stacey Abrams and social justice activist Tamika Mallory.
The non-televised honors will be presented on the Image Awards’ website daily through Friday, hosted by Nischelle Turner of “Entertainment Tonight.” Audiences can watch by visiting naacpimageawards.net and by clicking “Join The Virtual Experience Now.”
The 52nd NAACP Image Awards will air live on BET on March 27 at 8 p.m. ET/ 7 p.m. CT. The ceremony will be simulcast across ViacomCBS Networks including CBS, BET Her, VH1, MTV, MTV2, and LOGO.
The winners revealed during Thursday’s ceremony include:
Outstanding New Artist
Doja Cat – “Say So”
Outstanding Male Artist
Drake – “Laugh Now, Cry Later”
Outstanding Female Artist
Beyoncé – “Black Parade”
Outstanding Soul/R&B Song
“Do It” – Chloe x Halle
Outstanding Hip Hop/Rap Song
“Savage Remix” – Megan Thee Stallion feat. Beyoncé
Outstanding Duo, Group or Collaboration (Traditional)
Chloe x Halle – “Wonder What She Thinks Of Me”
Outstanding Duo, Group or Collaboration (Contemporary)
Megan Thee Stallion feat. Beyoncé – “Savage Remix”
Outstanding Album
“Chilombo” – Jhené Aiko
Outstanding Producer of the Year
Hit-Boy
Outstanding Music Video/Visual Album
“Brown Skin Girl” – Beyonce’ feat WizKid, SAINt JHN, Blu Ivy Carter
Outstanding Jazz Album – Instrumental
“Music From and Inspired By Soul” – Jon Batiste
Outstanding Jazz Album – Vocal
“Holy Room – Live at Alte Oper” – Somi
Outstanding International Song
“Lockdown” – Original Koffee
Outstanding Soundtrack/Compilation Album
“Soul” Original Motion Picture Soundtrack – Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, Jon Batiste and Tom MacDougall
Outstanding Gospel/Christian Song
“Touch from you” – Tamela Mann
Outstanding Gospel/Christian Album
“The Return” – The Clark Sisters
Special Award – Sports Award II
WNBA Player’s Association (Nneka Ogqumike accepting on behalf of WNBAPA)
Wednesday, March 24:
Jamie Foxx, Marsai Martin and Steve Harvey were among the repeat winners honored during Wednesday’s virtual NAACP Image Awards ceremony, continuing their run of Image award wins.
Martin won the outstanding performance by a youth award for the third year in a row for “Black-ish.” This is the fourth time the 16-year-old star has been honored in this category (she also won in 2017), and her sixth nomination.
In 2020, Martin won a total of four Image awards, including the supporting actress in a comedy series prize for “Black-ish” and the supporting actress and breakthrough performance in a motion picture prizes for “Little.”
Foxx picked up his sixth NAACP Image award for his voiceover performance in “Soul.” Last year, the Oscar-winner picked up the supporting actor Image award for his performance in “Just Mercy,” which also won the outstanding motion picture prize and best actor (Michael B. Jordan). Foxx’s first NAACP Image award win came in 1998 for “The Jamie Foxx Show.”
“Soul” also won the outstanding animated motion picture prize from the NAACP shortly before the film picked up the Producers Guild Award during the guild’s virtual ceremony, also held on Wed. night. Co-writer and co-director Kemp Powers accepted the Image award alongside producer Dana Murray and co-writer/director/Pixar’s chief creative officer Pete Docter.
“Being able to tell a universal tale that explores the meaning of life through the prism of a Black man’s experiences was a special and incredible honor for all of us,” Powers said. “And though the details of all of our stories are very specific, the struggle to find meaning in our lives, is universal.”
Loretta Devine picked up her ninth Image award, honored for outstanding guest performance in Starz’s “P-Valley.” The celebrated actor has previously won for her performances in “Waiting to Exhale,” “The Preacher’s Wife,” “Boston Public,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” and her voice-over work on “Doc McStuffins” (which won the animated series prize).
On the hosting front, Steve Harvey and Trevor Noah took home top honors for emceeing “Celebrity Family Feud” and “The Daily Show” respectively. Harvey’s win was a repeat from last year, while Noah (who is also nominated for 2021 Entertainer of the Year) nabbed his first individual Image award.
Harvey’s “Celebrity Family Feud” also won the reality program, competition or game show prize. The comedian and host has now won 10 Image awards, including entertainer of the year in 2001.
“Red Table Talk,” hosted by Jada Pinkett Smith, Willow Smith and Adrienne Banfield-Norris, won the outstanding talk series prize. Facebook Watch announced earlier Wednesday that “Red Table Talk” will return with new episodes streaming weekly beginning March 31.
The winners revealed during Wednesday’s ceremony include:
Outstanding Talk Series
“Red Table Talk”
Outstanding Reality Program/Reality Competition or Game Show
“Celebrity Family Feud”
Outstanding Variety Show (Series or Special)
VERZUZ
Outstanding News/Information (Series or Special)
The New York Times Presents “The Killing of Breonna Taylor”
Outstanding Children’s Program
“Family Reunion”
Outstanding Performance by a Youth (Series, Special, Television Movie or Limited-Series)
Marsai Martin – “Black-ish”
Outstanding Animated Series
“Doc McStuffins”
Outstanding Animated Motion Picture
“Soul”
Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance (Television)
Laya DeLeon Hayes – “Doc McStuffins”
Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance – Motion Picture
Jamie Foxx – “Soul”
Outstanding Host in a Talk or News/Information (Series or Special) – Individual or Ensemble
Trevor Noah – “The Daily Show with Trevor Noah”
Outstanding Host in a Reality/Reality Competition, Game Show or Variety (Series or Special) – Individual or Ensemble
Steve Harvey – “Celebrity Family Feud”
Outstanding Guest Performance – Comedy or Drama Series
Loretta Devine- “P-Valley”
Outstanding Breakthrough Creative (Television)
Raynelle Swilling – “Cherish the Day”
Special Award – Founder’s
Toni Vaz
Tuesday, March 23:
Women ruled the night during Tuesday’s virtual ceremony, with major moments for Michaela Coel, filmmakers Gina Prince-Bythewood and Radha Blank, and Spingarn Medal recipient Misty Copeland. Seven of the thirteen competitive awards were presented to women for individual achievements in television and film.
“A writer is only as good as those reading and questioning their work,” Coel said in her virtual acceptance speech. “It was important for me to receive opinions of Black people, of queer people whilst I developed these scripts, and they provided me with that.
“The privilege of writing in the way that I do, is that I get to spend a lot of time on my own in the middle of nowhere — the only interruption to my sense of calm, being the fears my own mind possesses,” Coel continued. “It was here in this silence that I was able to process my own trauma, in a way that helps me grow. It was here, I was able to both loosen and tighten the sense of myself as a woman, as a Black woman and as a child of working-class immigrants. I really hope that more Black writers get this silence, to think, sit, and give ourselves our own feedback.”
The television writing prizes went to Coel (“I May Destroy You”), Attica Locke (“Little Fires Everywhere”) and Geri Cole (“The Power of We: A Sesame Street Special”). “The Forty-Year-Old Version” filmmaker and star Radha Blank won the award for outstanding writing in a motion picture.
“I dedicate this award to my mother Carol Blank, who was my first audience and the biggest champion of my ideas,” Blank said, accepting her honor. “Through her I learned that in times like these where people still struggle for equality, a storyteller has the ability to inspire hope and reflect our humanity with our most prized possession, our pen.”
Gina Prince-Bythewood earned her third NAACP Image Award, collecting the prize for outstanding directing in a motion picture for her Netflix hit “The Old Guard.” Prince-Bythewood had previously won for directing “The Secret Life of Bees” in 2009 and for her writing on “Shots Fired” in 2018.
Quibi’s “#FreeRayshawn” and its star Laurence Fishburne also continued to rack up the wins (despite the fact that the streaming service is now defunct), earning prizes in the outstanding short form series categories. The series won three Emmy awards last fall.
The winners revealed during Tuesday’s ceremony include:
Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series
Michaela Coel – “I May Destroy You” – Ep. 112 “Ego Death”
Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series
Attica Locke – “Little Fires Everywhere” – Ep. 104 “The Spider Web”
Outstanding Writing in a Television Movie or Special
Geri Cole – “The Power of We: A Sesame Street Special”
Outstanding Writing in a Motion Picture
Radha Blank – “The Forty-Year-Old Version”
Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series
Anya Adams – “Black-ish” – Ep. 611 “Hair Day”
Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series
Hanelle Culpepper – “Star Trek: Picard” – Ep. 101 “Remembrance”
Outstanding Directing in a Television Movie or Special
Eugene Ashe – “Sylvie’s Love”
Outstanding Directing in a Motion Picture
Gina Prince-Bythewood – “The Old Guard”
Outstanding Short Form Series – Comedy or Drama
“#FreeRayshawn“
Outstanding Performance in a Short Form
Laurence Fishburne – “#FreeRayshawn”
Outstanding Short Form Series – Reality/Nonfiction
“Between The Scenes” – The Daily Show with Trevor Noah
Outstanding Short-Film (Live Action)
“Black Boy Joy”
Outstanding Short-Film (Animated)
“Canvas”
Special Award – Spingarn Medal
Misty Copeland
Monday, March 22:
President Barack Obama’s bestselling memoir “A Promised Land” was among the winners during Monday night’s webcast, which focused on the documentary and literary prizes, earning the outstanding literary work nonfiction prize.
ESPN & Netflix’s “The Last Dance,” which centered Michael Jordan and the 1997-1998 Chicago Bulls, picked up the outstanding documentary, television series or special category prize. “John Lewis: Good Trouble” earned the award for outstanding documentary film.
Monday’s award ceremony also included acknowledgement special honorees Madison Potts (who earned the youth activist of the year) award and Reverend Dr. Wendell Anthony (recognized as activist of the year).
The winners revealed during Monday’s ceremony include:
Outstanding Literary Work – Fiction
“The Awkward Black Man” – Walter Mosley
Outstanding Literary Work – Nonfiction
“A Promised Land” – Barack Obama
Outstanding Literary Work – Debut Author
“We’re Better Than This” – Elijah Cummings
Outstanding Literary Work – Biography/Autobiography
“The Dead Are Arising” – Les Payne, Tamara Payne
Outstanding Literary Work – Instructional
“Vegetable Kingdom” – Bryant Terry
Outstanding Literary Work – Poetry
“The Age of Phillis” – Honorée Jeffers
Outstanding Literary Work – Children
“She Was the First!: The Trailblazing Life of Shirley Chisholm” – Katheryn Russell-Brown, Eric Velasquez
Outstanding Literary Work – Youth/Teens
“Before the Ever After” – Jacqueline Woodson
Outstanding Directing in a Documentary (Television or Motion Picture)
Keith McQuirter – “By Whatever Means Necessary: The Times of Godfather of Harlem”
Outstanding Writing in a Documentary (Television or Motion Picture)
Melissa Haizlip – “Mr. SOUL!”
Outstanding Documentary (Film)
“John Lewis: Good Trouble”
Outstanding Documentary (Television – Series or Special)
“The Last Dance”
Special Award – Youth Activist of the Year
Madison Potts
Special Award – Activist of the Year
Reverend Dr. Wendell Anthony
