During his acceptance speech, the 28-year-old said: “I used to sneak into the Image Awards, and now I’m standing here as the entertainer of the year, which is mind-blowing”.
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Straight Outta Compton won the Best Movie award and O’Shae Jackson Jr. also snagged the supporting actor award for the portrayal of his dad Ice Cube in the film.
The 47th annual NAACP Image Awards will start at 9p.m. ET, but the red carpet coverage will begin an hour earlier at 8p.m. ET.
The awards show host and Black-ish star, who took home the best actor in a comedy series award for his leading role on the ABC show, dedicated a portion of his opening monologue to addressing the recent Oscars controversy, which resulted due to the absence of black acting nominees recognized for this year’s Academy Awards for the second consecutive year. “I don’t mean to sound cocky, but the movie’s called Creed not Rocky!”.
“Hollywood needs to know that this is what diversity is supposed to look like”, a more serious Anderson told the crowd at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium.
Anthony Anderson, Tracee Ellis Ross and Marsai Martin all won for their roles in the comedy Black-ish, and Outstanding Drama Series went to Empire, with Terence Howard and Taraji P. Henson winning Outstanding Actor and Actress in a Drama Series for their roles in the popular Lee Daniels-created series.
Anderson even managed to poke fun at stars Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, who are boycotting this year’s Oscars and have been outspoken on the lack of nominations for actors of color in the Academy’s major categories.
Anthony Anderson is hosting for the third year in a row. The Empire cast was also in attendance and picked up awards for Best TV Drama. In his speech, the singer-songwriter lauded activists who fight for social justice. “I am hopeful that our generation will demand and achieve radical change in our lifetime”.
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Taking after a video montage highlighting John’s stunning vocation and the amount he makes a point to offer back to others, Domain’s Jussie Smollet showed up and sang an interpretation of John’s work of art “Conventional Individuals” before Alice Smith made advances on sing a capable adaptation of his Oscar winning tune with Normal. “We have so much opportunity, let’s not waste it”.
