The NAACP Image Awards annually honors extraordinary Black talent in entertainment and media. This year’s ceremony, which occurred on Saturday at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, was no different. According to The Hollywood Reporter, some of the night’s big winners included The Color Purple cast, Usher, and Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story star India Amarteifio. Read on for some of the night’s biggest moments.
The Color Purple gets its flowers.
No project garnered as much recognition during the ceremony as Blitz Bazawule’s The Color Purple. The remake took home the best motion picture award and three others at the show, including outstanding actress in a motion picture award for Fantasia, who played Celie in the film. The movie won seven awards during the non-televised ceremony, winning 11 NAACP Image Awards out of 16 nominations.
“This story truly is our cinematic heirloom,” The Color Purple star Danielle Brooks said while accepting the best motion picture trophy. “We pray that this story continues to heal families’ trauma, that we continue to love on each other and forgive one another … and become the heroes and sheroes of our own story.”
Usher was named entertainer of the year and received the president’s award.
No one had a bigger 2023 (and judging by the Super Bowl, likely 2024 as well) than Usher, who won both entertainer of the year and the president’s award at the ceremony.
“I guess all great things start with Oprah Winfrey,” he started his speech while accepting the former.
Later, he preached the power of believing in yourself.
While accepting the president’s award, the singer shared a heartfelt message to his mother.
“Far too often in our industry, women do not get the recognition they truly deserve,” he said. “And when we first started, it was even harder for a mother to believe in the dreams that I had,” he said of his mom, who he noted raised him without a father. “If anyone deserves it more than anybody, it’s her. Because the tenacity thta it took to look within a male-dominant industry and believe in your son unwaveringly, no matter how hard those boardrooms may have been. … Because of that, I have this moment. So, first and foremost, Mom, even though I wrote you down in it, I want you to know how much I really love appreciate, honor, recognize, appreciate you.”
Vice President Kamala Harris calls host Queen Latifah on stage.
Multi-hyphenate star Queen Latifah hosted this year’s affairs, and she did not disappoint, kicking off her hosting duties by sharing a conversation she had with Vice President Kamala Harris backstage. On stage, she pretended to get a call from President Joe Biden and joked with Biden and Harris about getting scoring them some of Usher’s sweat. Harris also pushed Latifah to urge people to register to vote and check their voting status at vote.gov, which Latifah did after calling attention to issues impacting Black Hollywood today.
Henson pushes for equal pay for Black actresses.
One of the issues Latifah highlighted, by way of Taraji P. Henson, was equal pay.
“Everybody keeps talking about inflation,” Latifah said. “You know what’s not feeling inflation?”
Henson chimed in and said, “Equal pay for Black actresses.”
That is not the first time Henson has been vocal about compensation for Black actresses. Latifah thanked her for her efforts to pay Black actresses deservedly.
Damson Idris takes home his first NAACP Image Award.
Damson Idris won his first NAACP Image Award for his work on the FX crime drama Snowfall. During his speech, he shouted out his mother, who flew 17 hours from Lagos, Nigeria, to be there with him on his big night.
“She said, ‘Damson, if I come to Los Angeles, you better win,'” Idris said while accepting the award for outstanding actor in a drama series.
Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story India Ria Amarteifio takes home a major award.
Queen Charlotte star India Ria Amarteifio defeated major A-listers, including Latifah, for the best drama actress award. While accepting the award, she shared that her win was “mental.”
“This show has made me feel so grounded in what it means to be a Black person and a Black woman,” Amarteifio said.
The ceremony shows love to Abbott Elementary.
Abbott Elementary was another big winner, gaining awards for best comedy series and supporting actor in a comedy series for William Stanford Davis. Series creator Quita Brunson won best comedy actress during the televised event. During her speech, she thanked the NAACP for recognizing the show and hilariously asked the crowd to watch for her lost earrings.
New Edition inducted into the NAACP Image Awards Hall of Fame
The ceremony also saw New Edition’s induction into the NAACP Image Awards Hall of Fame. Actor Donnie Wahlberg presented the group with the award, sharing that they “changed the music industry forever” and the group “also changed my life forever.”
“Without New Edition there is no New Kids on the Block, no Backstreet Boys, no NSYNC, no Justin Bieber, One Direction, Harry Styles,” he said. “We all owe our success to the greatest of all time.”
New Edition singer Ronnie DeVoe accepted the honor.
“So many people poured into us in the 40-plus years that we’ve been in the music industry. God, our creator; our parents, who gave us the gifts and talents that we turned into our purpose; a gentleman that gave us our name, Mr. Brooke Payne. Gifts and talents — it’s like coal without someone to refine it and put the pressure, it doesn’t turn into the diamonds that you see standing before you. So we thank you, Mr. Brooke Payne,” he said in part.