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NAACP Image Awards kick off with recognition of Altadena residents impacted by wildfires

Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., appears on stage at the 50th annual NAACP Image Awards on Saturday, March 30, 2019, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The 56th NAACP Image Awards kicked off Saturday at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium, with host Deon Cole honoring Altadena residents who were affected by a recent Los Angeles-area wildfire.

Cole then shifted tone and brightened the mood with a comedic prayer for Kanye West’s wife to find more clothes after her barely-there Grammys look and for Shannon Sharpe to finally size up his T-shirts.

The opening act was a lead-up to the evening’s first award: Queen Latifah as best actress in a drama series, for her role in “The Equalizer.”

The ceremony took place in Pasadena, just south of the Altadena area, and video of last month’s fire devastation played before actor Morris Chestnut took the stage.

“Homes were lost, stores destroyed, countless lives shattered and over two dozens souls gone forever,” said Chestnut, a Los Angeles native who referenced impacted areas such as Altadena, the Pacific Palisades and Malibu. He said 22 Altadena residents attended the show, panning towards them as many in the audience stood up and applauded.

“But what was not lost is the spirit of our community,” Chestnut said.

Former Vice President Kamala Harris was to be honored during the ceremony, receiving the prestigious Chairman’s Award, and the Wayans family was to be inducted into the NAACP Awards Hall of Fame.

Here is what you need to know about the awards show, including how to watch or stream live, entertainer of the year nominees and more details on featured honorees.

Harris, defeated by Donald Trump in last year’s presidential election, was the first woman and the first person of color to serve as vice president. She had previously been a U.S. senator from California and the state’s attorney general.

In a statement, Harris was called a “force of change” by Leon W. Russell, chair of the NAACP’s national board of directors. He said the show would celebrate her “relentless dedication to justice, equality, and the betterment of our society.”

Other winners of the Chairman’s prize have included former President Barack Obama, the late Rep. John Lewis and the late actor Ruby Dee.

The Wayans family — Keenen Ivory Wayans, Damon Wayans Sr., Marlon Wayans, Shawn Wayans, Kim Wayans and Damon Wayans Jr. — whose impact on film, TV, sketch and stand-up comedy has shaped Hollywood on and off screen, were each being recognized.

Some of the their credits include the sketch comedy series “In Living Color,” created by Keenan Ivory Wayans in 1990, and Damon Wayans’ starring role in the 1995 comedy “Major Payne.”

Keenan Ivory Wayans also directed the 2000 slasher spoof “Scary Movie,” written by Marlon and Shawn Wayans, who also wrote and starred in “White Chicks” in 2004. Father-son duo Damon Wayans and Damon Wayans Jr. currently co-star in the CBS sitcom “Poppa’s House.”

Damon Wayans Jr. has acted in two of the most critically acclaimed comedies in recent years: “Happy Endings” and “New Girl.” Kim Wayans, a comedian, actor and director, also received praise for her work in the 2011 drama “Pariah.”

“Poppa’s House” was nominated for an NAACP Award, as were Damon Wayons and Damon Wayons Jr. for their acting on the show. Marlon Wayans’ guest appearance on Peacock’s “Bel-Air” was also up for an award.

The top nominees for the coveted honor included Kendrick Lamar, Cynthia Erivo, Keke Palmer, Kevin Hart and Shannon Sharpe.

Lamar won over the masses for his rap battle with Drake, leading to chart-topping dis tracks including “Not Like Us,” which won him five Grammys. He headlined the Super Bowl halftime show earlier this month.

Erivo, who made her presence felt in her Oscar-nominated performance in “Wicked,” will be the host of the upcoming Tony Awards.

Sharpe, an NFL Hall of Famer, became an influential voice in media with his podcast “Club Shay Shay” and “Nightcap,” with Chad Ochocinco Johnson.

Hart showed off his comedic talents during “The Roast of Tom Brady” and starred in “Lift and Borderlands.”

Palmer starred in the buddy comedy “One of Them Days,” which debuted No. 1 at the box office last month. She won an Emmy for her hosting efforts on NBC’s “Password.”

Dave Chappelle was to be honored with the president’s award for his “thought-provoking humor,” according to Derrick Johnson, NAACP president and CEO.

Chappelle will be the first comedian to receive the honor. Past recipients include Jay-Z, Lauryn Hill, Usher, Rihanna and John Legend.

DJ D-Nice was to honor music legend the late Quincy Jones, and Grammy winner Ledisi was set to perform alongside the Adam Blackstone Band.

Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

Why is Kamala Harris being honored?

Who will be inducted into the NAACP Hall of Fame?

Who was up for entertainer of the year?

What else can you expect?

NAACP Image Awards 2025 Winners (UPDATING LIVE)

By Angelique Jackson

The 56th NAACP Image Awards have begun.

The ceremony, hosted by actor and comedian Deon Cole, is being broadcast live from the Pasadena Civic Auditorium, airing on BET and CBS. The theme for this year’s show is, “Our Stories, Our Culture, Our Excellence.”

Queen Latifah was named the first winner of the evening, nabbing the outstanding actress in a drama series for her performance in “The Equalizer.” Meanwhile, Michael Rainey Jr. took home the Image Award for outstanding actor in a drama series for “Power Book II: Ghost.”

In addition to announcing the 2025 winners, the ceremony is driving support for the Altadena, Pacific Palisades and Pasadena communities affected by the recent wildfires. Several Altadena residents received a standing ovation as they walked on stage.

Multiple nominees of the 56th NAACP Image Awards include Ayo Edebiri (with nominations for “The Bear,” “Saturday Night Live” and “Inside Out 2”); Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor (“Nickel Boys,” “Exhibiting Forgiveness” and “The Supremes at Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat”); Taraji P. Henson (“Fight Night,” hosting the 2024 BET Awards and her children’s book “You Can Be a Good Friend (No Matter What!)”); Colman Domingo (“Sing Sing” and “The Madness”); Kerry Washington (“The Six Triple Eight” and “UnPrisoned”); Lupita Nyong’o (“A Quiet Place: Day One” and “The Wild Robot”); Angela Bassett (“9-1-1” and her voiceover role in “Orion and the Dark”); David Alan Grier (“The American Society of Magical Negroes” and “St. Denis Medical”); Sanaa Lathan (“The Supremes at Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat” and “Young. Wild. Free”); Cree Summer (“Abbott Elementary” and her voiceover roles in “Rugrats” and “The Legend of Vox Machina”) and Aaron Pierre (“Rebel Ridge” and “Mufasa: The Lion King”).

NAACP Image Awards 2025 Nominations

This year’s honorees include former VP Kamala Harris, who will receive the Chairman’s Award; Dave Chapelle, who will be honored with the President’s Award; The Wayans Family, who will be inducted into the NAACP Hall of Fame; and BET Media Group, recipient of the Founders Award.

Below is the list of winners, updating live:

MOTION PICTURE CATEGORIES

Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture
Martin Lawrence — “Bad Boys: Ride or Die” (Sony Pictures)

TELEVISION + STREAMING CATEGORIES

Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series
Queen Latifah — “The Equalizer” (CBS)

Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series
Michael Rainey Jr. — “Power Book II: Ghost” (Starz)

Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series
Quinta Brunson — “Abbott Elementary” (ABC)

Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series
Damon Wayans — “Poppa’s House” (CBS)

Beyoncé and her daughter Blue Ivy Carter are adding a few more NAACP Image Awards to the family trophy case.

During night two of the Image Awards’ virtual ceremonies, Beyoncé picked up two trophies — one for outstanding female artist, as well as the outstanding album prize her country record “Cowboy Carter” to raise her career tally to 17 — while Blue Ivy won her second Image Award for her voiceover performance as Kiara in “Mufasa: The Lion King.”

Fresh off his Grammy sweep and triumphant Super Bowl halftime show performance, who is also nominated for the NAACP Image Awards’ Entertainer of the Year, picked up the outstanding hip-hop/rap song trophy for his smash-hit diss track “Not Like Us.” Netflix’s “The Six Triple Eight” also won two Image Awards: one for the film’s ensemble cast, led by Kerry Washington, while Ebony Obsidian nabbed the prize for outstanding breakthrough performance in a motion picture.

Angel “ThatChickAngel” Laketa Moore and Marcus Tanksley hosted the two-night virtual event, which streamed on the NAACP Image Awards YouTube channel.

Other winners — presented in the music and podcast categories, as well as a number of artisans awards — included Doechii (for outstanding new artist, one of six Image Awards she was nominated for, leading the music categories); Adam Blackstone and Fantasia (outstanding duo, group or collaboration – traditional); “The Piano Lesson” filmmaker Malcolm Washington (outstanding breakthrough creative – motion picture); “Portrait” by Samara Joy (outstanding jazz album); “Live Breathe Fight” by Tamela Mann (outstanding gospel/christian album; and Ryan Michelle Bathé and Sterling K. Brown’s “We Don’t Always Agree with Ryan & Sterling” (outstanding podcast – lifestyle/self-help).

The 56th Image Awards broadcast will take place on Feb. 22, airing live from the Pasadena Civic Auditorium at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on BET and CBS. Special honorees include Vice President Kamala Harris, who will receive the Chairman’s Award; trailblazing comedian Dave Chappelle, who will be awarded the President’s Award; and the Wayans family — namely Keenen Ivory Wayans, Damon Wayans Sr., Marlon Wayans, Shawn Wayans, Kim Wayans and Damon Wayans Jr. — who will be inducted into the NAACP Image Awards Hall of Fame.

Jotaka Eaddy, founder and CEO of #WinWithBlackWomen, and Essence Communications will receive special awards at the Creative Honors ceremony on Feb. 21.

This year, the Image Awards broadcast will be extended by 30 minutes to two and a half hours, with the ceremony also used to drive support for the Altadena, Pacific Palisades and Pasadena communities affected by the recent wildfires. BET Media Group, NAACP, Johnson Shapiro Slewett & Kole and WME partnered with L.A. County and collaborated with local community organizations, including Community Aid Dena, Altadena Heritage and WalkGood LA, to launch the Altadena Community Preservation Fund, which is aimed at protecting homeowners from displacement and preserving the community’s cultural heritage.

[Pictured above: Kendrick Lamar; Beyoncé and Blue Ivy Carter; and the cast of “The Six Triple Eight”]

The full list of winners from Night 2 are below:

Outstanding New Artist
Doechii (Capitol Records/Top Dawg Entertainment)

Outstanding Male Artist
Chris Brown (RCA Records/Chris Brown Entertainment)

Outstanding Female Artist
Beyoncé (Columbia Records/Parkwood Entertainment LLC)

Outstanding International Song
“Hmmm” – Chris Brown feat. Davido (RCA Records/Chris Brown Entertainment)

Outstanding Jazz Album
“Portrait” – Samara Joy (Verve Records)

Outstanding Gospel/Christian Song
“Working For Me” – Tamela Mann (Tillymann Music Group)

Outstanding Gospel/Christian Album
“Live Breathe Fight” – Tamela Mann (Tillymann Music Group)

Outstanding Duo, Group or Collaboration (Traditional)
Adam Blackstone & Fantasia – “Summertime” (BASSic Black Entertainment Records/Anderson Music Group/EMPIRE)

Outstanding Duo, Group or Collaboration (Contemporary)
Wizkid feat. Brent Faiyaz – “Piece of My Heart” (RCA Records/Sony Music International/Starboy Entertainment)

Outstanding Original Score for Television/Film
“Star Wars: The Acolyte (Original Soundtrack)” (Walt Disney Records)

Outstanding Song – Hip-Hop/Rap Song
“Not Like Us” – Kendrick Lamar (pgLang, under exclusive license to Interscope Records)

Outstanding Album
“Cowboy Carter” – Beyoncé (Columbia Records/Parkwood Entertainment LLC)

Outstanding Podcast – Limited Series/Short Form
“Stranded” (Broadway Video and Audible)

Outstanding Podcast – News and Information
“Native Land Pod” (iHeartPodcasts, Reasoned Choice Media)

Outstanding Podcast – Lifestyle/Self-Help
“We Don’t Always Agree with Ryan & Sterling” (ABF Creative & Indian Meadows Production)

Outstanding Costume Design (Television or Motion Picture)
“Wicked” – Paul Tazewell (Universal Pictures)

Outstanding Hair Styling (Television or Motion Picture)
“Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist” – Lawrence Davis (Peacock)

Outstanding Make-up (Television or Motion Picture)
“Shirley” – Debi Young (Netflix)

Outstanding Stunt Ensemble
“Rebel Ridge” – Keith Woulard, Nico Woulard (Netflix)

Outstanding International Motion Picture
“Emilia Pérez” (Netflix)

Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance (Motion Picture)
Blue Ivy Carter – “Mufasa: The Lion King” (Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture)

Outstanding Directing in a Documentary (Television or Motion Picture)
Dawn Porter – “Luther: Never Too Much” (Sony Music Entertainment/Sony Music Publishing/CNN Films)

Outstanding Cinematography in a Motion Picture
Jomo Fray – “Nickel Boys” (Orion Pictures/Amazon MGM Studios)

Outstanding Breakthrough Creative (Motion Picture)
Malcolm Washington – “The Piano Lesson” (Netflix)

Outstanding Breakthrough Performance in a Motion Picture
Ebony Obsidian – “The Six Triple Eight” (Netflix)

Outstanding Ensemble Cast in a Motion Picture
“The Six Triple Eight” (Netflix)

The 56th NAACP Image Awards have officially kicked off with Ayo Edebiri, Keke Palmer, Marlon Wayans and Jamie Foxx among the first set of winners.

A handful of awards were presented during the pre-Awards virtual ceremony, including Edebiri for outstanding breakthrough creative for television for FX’s “The Bear”; Palmer as host of NBC’s “Password”; Marlon Wayans for his guest performance on Peacock’s “Bel-Air”; and Foxx’s Netflix comedy special “What Had Happened Was,” as well as film and TV writing and directing honors; numerous short film prizes; and winners in the literary categories.

Taraji P. Henson won two Image Awards: one for outstanding supporting actress in a limited television series, special or movie for Peacock’s “Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist” (her co-star Samuel L. Jackson picked up the supporting actor prize) and as the author of the children’s book “You Can Be a Good Friend (No Matter What!): A Lil TJ Book.”

MSNBC host Joy Ann Reid also won two awards for her show “The Reidout” (outstanding news/information series or special) and as the author of the biography “Medgar and Myrlie: Medgar Evers and the Love Story That Awakened America.” The hit YouTube series “Gracie’s Corner” picked up two prizes (outstanding children’s program and outstanding animated series).

Leah Sava Jeffries, star of “Percy Jackson and the Olympics” on Disney+, won the award for outstanding performance in the TV categories, while Cree Summer, who was also nominated for outstanding guest performance for “Abbott Elementary,” took home the Image Award for outstanding voiceover performance on television for her work on Nickelodeon’s “Rugrats.”

The full list of winners from Night 1 are below:

Outstanding Children’s Program
“Gracie’s Corner” (YouTube TV)

Outstanding Performance by a Youth (Series, Special, Television Movie or Limited Series)
Leah Sava Jeffries – “Percy Jackson and the Olympics” (Disney+)

Outstanding Animated Series
“Gracie’s Corner” (YouTube TV)

Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance (Television)
Cree Summer – “Rugrats” (Nickelodeon)

Outstanding Literary Work – Fiction
“One of Us Knows: A Thriller” – Alyssa Cole (William Morrow – HarperCollins Publishers)

Outstanding Literary Work – Non-Fiction
“Love & Whiskey: The Remarkable True Story of Jack Daniel, His Master Distiller Nearest Green, and the Improbable Rise of Uncle Nearest” – Fawn Weaver (Melcher Media Inc.)

Outstanding Literary Work – Debut Author
Sarai Johnson – “Grown Women” (Harper – HarperCollins Publishers)

Outstanding Literary Work – Biography/Autobiography
“Medgar and Myrlie: Medgar Evers and the Love Story That Awakened America” – Joy-Ann Reid (Mariner Books – HarperCollins Publishers)

Outstanding Literary Work – Instructional
“Wash Day: Passing on the Legacy, Rituals, and Love of Natural Hair” – Tomesha Faxio (Clarkson Potter – Crown Publishing Group)

Outstanding Literary Work – Poetry
“This Is the Honey: An Anthology of Contemporary Black Poets” – Kwame Alexander (Little, Brown and Company – Hachette Book Group)

Outstanding Literary Work – Children
“You Can Be a Good Friend (No Matter What!): A Lil TJ Book” – Taraji P. Henson, Paul Kellam (Zonderkidz – HarperCollins Publishers)

Outstanding Literary Work – Youth/Teens
“Brushed Between Cultures: A YA Coming of Age Novel Set in Brooklyn, New York” – Samarra St. Hilaire (Self-Published)

Outstanding Literary Work – Graphic Novel
“Punk Rock Karaoke” – Bianca Xunise

Outstanding Variety (Series or Special)
“Jamie Foxx: What Had Happened Was” (Netflix)

Outstanding Guest Performance
Marlon Wayans – “Bel-Air” (Peacock)

Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series
Crystal Jenkins – “No Good Deed – Letters of Intent” Netflix)

Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series
Ben Watkins – Cross “Hero Complex” (Prime Video)

Outstanding Writing in a Television Movie or Special
Juel Taylor, Tony Rettenmaier, Thembi L. Banks – “Young. Wild. Free.” (BET+)

Outstanding Breakthrough Creative (Television)
Ayo Edebiri – “The Bear” (FX/Hulu)

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Television (Series, Special, Movie)
Taraji P. Henson – “Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist” (Peacock)

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Television (Series, Special, Movie)
Samuel L. Jackson – “Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist” (Peacock)

Outstanding Directing in a Television Movie or Special
Tina Mabry – “The Supremes at Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat” (Hulu)

Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series
Tiffany Johnson – “How to Die Alone – ‘Trust No One’” (Hulu)

Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series
Rapman – “Supacell – ‘Supacell’” (Netflix)

Outstanding News/Information (Series or Special)
“The Reidout” (MSNBC)

Outstanding Host in a Reality/Reality Competition, Game Show or Variety (Series or Special) – Individual or Ensemble
Keke Palmer – “Password” (NBC)

Outstanding Reality Program, Reality Competition Services/Game Show
“Celebrity Family Feud” (ABC)

Outstanding ShortForm Series or Special – Reality/Nonfiction/Documentary
“The Prince of Death Row Records” (YouTube TV)

Outstanding Short Form Documentary (Film)
“How to Sue the Klan”

Outstanding Short Form (Live Action)
“Superman Doesn’t Steal”

Outstanding Short Form (Animated)
“Peanut Headz: Black History Toonz “Jackie Robinson” (Exhibit Treal Studios)

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Wednesday, February 19
Ayo Edebiri, Keke Palmer, Marlon Wayans and Jamie Foxx’s ‘What Had Happened Was’ Comedy Special Get Early Wins

Tuesday, February 18
Ayo Edebiri, Keke Palmer, Marlon Wayans and Jamie Foxx’s ‘What Had Happened Was’ Comedy Special Get Early Wins

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