NAACP Image Awards Audience Grows By 72% As Ceremony Returns To CBS

Whether it was the lingering drama of The Slap or the prominence of blockbusters in the best picture race, a bigger audience was lured back to the Oscars this year.

As last minute preparations and rehearsals were busily taking place at the Dolby Theatre for this Sunday’s 95th Annual Academy Awards, I was able to carve out some time with AMPAS CEO Bill Kramer on Wednesday to talk about the show, handling potential crisis situations, continuing controversies about Oscar campaigning and social media, plus the future of the broadcast with ABC and the Dolby Theatre venue where it has taken place for several years. He was in a very upbeat mood about what he was seeing so far in his first year as CEO so involved with the Oscar show with new President Janet Yang on behalf of the Academy and what they hope will be somewhat of a return to Oscar’s former glory after a rough couple of years where the broadcast was deeply affected by the pandemic and then the now-infamous Will Smith/Chris Rock slap which we also talk about including Kramer’s reaction to Rock’s Netflix comedy special last Saturday and its timing just a week before this year’s show.

Will Smith makes a triumphant awards show return at the 14th Annual AAFCA Awards at the Beverly Wiltshire, A Four Seasons Hotel on Wednesday (March 1) in Beverly Hills, Calif.

Julia MacCary editor Will Smith was the surprise guest that set the room abuzz Wednesday night at the 14th annual African American Film Critics Assn. Awards at the Beverly Wilshire hotel. But Smith had tough competition in the emotional-speech department from fellow honorees that included Danielle Deadwyler, Viola Davis, Angela Bassett and Gina Prince-Bythewood. Deadwyler, who won lead actress honors for her tour de force role in “Till,” drew the crowd’s the attention to the world-changing impact of Mamie Till-Mobley, whose provocative decision to show pictures of her son’s brutalized corpse helped ignite the Civil Rights movement in the 1950s and ’60s.

2022 Oscars.The 54-year-old appeared Wednesday at the African American Film Critics Association Awards in Los Angeles, where he received the Beacon Award for his role in the recent AppleTV+ film “Emancipation.”The actor — who has largely been banished from Hollywood in the wake of his assault on Rock — didn’t address the scandal as he took to the microphone. Instead, Smith focused on his role in “Emancipation,” a historical drama in which he plays a runaway slave in 1860s Louisiana. “’Emancipation’ was the most individual difficult film of my entire career,” Smith declared.

Will Smith is speaking at award ceremonies again. The 54-year-old actor attended the 14th annual African American Film Critics Association Awards in Beverly Hills, California, on Wednesday night and took the podium to say a few words. The speech marked the Oscar winner’s first in-person acceptance at an awards show since he slappedChris Rock onstage at the 2022 Academy Awards.Smith accepted the Beacon Award with Emancipation director Antoine Fuqua. His co-star, Charmaine Bingwa, and AAFCA cofounder Gil L.

The stars are hitting the red carpet!

Jamie Lee Curtis had a lot of love to give after taking home the award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role during Sunday's 29th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles. The actress won for her role in .Before taking the stage to the delight of the audience, Curtis grabbed her co-star, Michelle Yeoh, and planted a big kiss on her.«I kissed her?, Did I really kiss her?» Curtis joked to ET's Denny Directo, backstage during the ceremony. «I love Michelle Yeoh.

2023 SAG Awards on Sunday, but some fan-favorite shows and movies were shut out.The best actor in a film category was a tight race, but ultimately “Elvis” star Austin Butler lost to “The Whale” star Brendan Fraser.Fraser, 54, also scored an award at the Critics Choice Awards in January over Butler. The pair will duke it out again come March at the Oscars.However, the “Carrie Diaries” alum, 31, won the Golden Globe and BAFTA best actor awards earlier this year for his role as the King of Rock and Roll.“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” star Angela Bassett was also snubbed last night, despite earning a Golden Globe and being nominated for a BAFTA.

Ariana DeBose knows how to «do the thing» when it comes to poking fun at herself.The Oscar winner took the stage alongside Diego Luna to present at the 2023 SAG Awards on Sunday. First, the pair shared a laugh about how to quiet down the crowd — in both Spanish and English, before DeBose beckoned to Luna to read the list of nominees.«Diego, do the thing,» she said, poking fun at her viral musical clip from the 2023 BAFTAs.The moment was made even better by a perfectly-timed cutaway to Angela Bassett herself, who proved once again that she's in on the joke, sharing a laugh with DeBose.Ariana DeBose: «Diego, do the thing.» #SAGAwardspic.twitter.com/2Rc0xzFy30The reference is to DeBose's opening for the 2023 BAFTA Awards, in which she performed «Sisters Are Doing It For Themselves» and «We Are Family,» and the infamous original rap where she shouted out the awards show's female nominees, including the line, «Angela Bassett did the thing / Viola Davis, my woman king.» Bassett herself even poked fun at the new meme when she accepted her Entertainer of the Year award at the 2023 NAACP Awards on Saturday.«I guess Angela Bassett did the thing,» she quipped to the audience's laughter.The 2023 SAG Awards will take place on Sunday, Feb.

29th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards, honoring the best film and TV performances of the past year, were handed out live.For the first time since 1998, the ceremony was not broadcast on TV. Instead, it aired on Netflix's YouTube channel after it was announced that the platform will begin streaming the ceremony live in 2024, as part of a multi-year partnership with SAG-AFTRA. Going into the awards,  and both led with five nominations each, including four individual acting nods and one for ensemble.

So many stars made it out for the 54th NAACP Awards on Saturday evening (February 25) in Pasadena, Calif.

Ariana DeBose's now-infamous rap performance at the 2023 BAFTA Awards has officially come full circle. During Saturday night's 54th NAACP Image Awards, the breakout star of DeBose's viral rap, Angela Bassett, proved she knows how to carry a joke while accepting her Entertainer of the Year award onstage.«I guess Angela Bassett did the thing,» she quipped to the audience's laugher.«I guess Angela Bassett did the thing» — Angela Bassett as she accepts her entertainer of the year award at the #NAACPImageAwardspic.twitter.com/mevSTcKhUSThe reference is to DeBose's opening for the 2023 BAFTA Awards, in which she performed «Sisters Are Doing It For Themselves» and «We Are Family,» and the infamous original rap where she shouted out the awards show's female nominees. “Angela Bassett did the thing, Viola Davis my 'Woman King,' Blanchett Cate you're a genius, Jamie Lee you are all of us,” sang DeBose. The camera panned to the women as they were name-dropped. Memes quickly made their rounds on social media among a wide range of responses, which seemingly led DeBose to deactivate her Twitter account. But on Instagram DeBose reacted graciously, commenting on a carousel of memes with, «Honestly I love this.»In a preview for an upcoming interview on BBC Radio 2's  posted on TikTok, the  star brushed away the criticism and focused on the love she's received.

much-publicized dust-up with Chris Rock occurred at the 94th Academy Awards.Angela Bassett was a triple winner, taking home Entertainer of the Year, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture for “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” (a performance for which she’s also Oscar-nominated) and Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series for “9-1-1.”ABC’s “Abbott Elementary,” meanwhile, dominated the TV awards, taking home four trophies in all including Outstanding Comedy Series, Best Actress (Quinta Brunson), Supporting Actress (Janelle James) and Supporting Actor (Tyler James Williams). James bested Emmy-winning costar Sheryl Lee Ralph in the supporting category, giving her a boost as Emmy season approaches.Starz’s acclaimed “P-Valley” surprised by picking up a number of major awards, including Outstanding Drama Series, Nicco Annan for leading actor, and Loretta Devine for supporting actress.

NAACP Image Awards did the thing! After its regular week-long, non-televised celebrations, the annual awards ceremony concluded with its main ceremony on Saturday night. Hosted by GRAMMY, Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actress and producer Queen Latifah, Saturday's ceremony included Janelle Monae, Taye Diggs, Kerry Washington, Jonathan Majors, Zendaya and more presenting awards to their peers, while also highlighting the accomplishments of political leaders and activists.Jennifer Hudson, Quinta Brunson, Keke Palmer and more scored wins during the pre-awards festivities, while Saturday's ceremony saw Angela Bassett, Viola Davis, Will Smith and more honored for their artistic contributions. This year's Activist of the Year Award was presented to Dr. Derrick Lee Foward, president of the Dayton Unit of the NAACP and a vice president of the Ohio NAACP, and the Youth Activist of the Year Award honored to Bradley Ross Jackson, the president of the youth council of the Bloomington-Normal NAACP in Bloomington, Indiana.

Katie Reul editor Will Smith won the NAACP Image Award for outstanding actor in a motion picture for his performance in “Emancipation” on Saturday night, marking his first award win since his infamous incident at the 2022 Oscars in which he slapped Chris Rock onstage. Smith was not present at the ceremony to accept his award in person. Set in 19th century Louisiana, Smith portrays a runaway slave who embarks on a treacherous journey to Baton Rouge while thwarting off violent plantation owners. “Emancipation” was inspired by an 1863 photograph known as “Whipped Peter,” which depicts a once-enslaved individual with severe lacerations on his back. The image’s circulation placed the brutality of slavery in front of the eyes of the American public.

NAACP Image Awards took place on Saturday night, with Queen Latifah hosting the telecast from Pasadena Civic Auditorium. Nominees throughout the categories include Angela Bassett, Will Smith, Jonathan Majors, Mary J. Blige, Quinta Brunson, Viola Davis, Zendaya, Danielle Deadwyler, Letitia Wright and Sterling K. Brown and many more. Latifah opened the show with a robust tribute to Black women, shouting out several luminaries in the audience, including Serena Williams (who received the Jackie Robinson Sports Award), Bassett, and Davis — who Latifah celebrated for being a newly minted EGOT.

Brendan Fraser and Angela Bassett were among the big winners at the 2023 Hollywood Critics Association’s HCA Film Awards!

After nearly a week of handing out trophies, the televised portion of the NAACP Image Awards begins at 8 p.m. ET Saturday on multiple Paramount Global channels. The show airs delayed at 8 p.m. in the Pacific time zone. Read on about how to watch it.

BreAnna Bell The show continued on at the 54th Annual NAACP Image Awards despite an emergency flash flood warning and a torrential downpour effectively stopping the awards show red carpet. Attendees made the trip through the pouring rain to make the show, carefully treading through the rain-soaked pink carpet to find their seats at the L.A. Live Event Deck in Los Angeles, Calif. where they were treated to performances from gospel artist Tye Tribett and Too $hort as well as appearances from celebrities like Tichina Arnold, Katori Hall, the cast of Amazon Prime Video’s “Harlem,” and an impromptu wedding proposal. After Major gave the convocation, Tribett opened the show with his lively rendition of “Get Up,” which quickly pushed guests out of their seats and onto their feet to dance. The dinner’s host Bresha Webb announced her recent nuptials in her welcoming address and proceeded to poke fun at Ariana Debose with her own version of the Oscar winner’s now-viral BAFTA’s rap when honoring the night’s nominees.