The 2024 NAACP Image Awards are underway, with Queen Latifah hosting the televised ceremony airing on BET and CBS.
Saturday night’s televised ceremony, which Latifah hosts for the second year in a row, comes after the NAACP presented awards in non-televised categories earlier this week.
Going into Saturday night, The Color Purple has already won a leading seven awards from its 16 nominations.
Latifah kicked off the show, which began more than 20 minutes later than its scheduled start time of 8 p.m. ET, with a cold open featuring the host receiving a call from Vice President Kamala Harris backstage.
During her monologue, Latifah shouted out people in the audience and name-checked notable Black figures who made significant achievements over the past year including Maryland Governor Wes Moore, Patrick Mahomes, Usher, Coco Gauff, Beyoncé and Tracy Chapman, jokingly calling Luke Combs’ cover of “Fast Car,” “the first time a Black person actually gave consent to a white person to take a song.”
Harris had urged Latifah to remind people of the 2024 elections and told her to tell the audience to register to vote and check their voting status at vote.gov, and Latifah did just that after addressing some key issues, including pay inequality in Hollywood.
“Everyone keeps talking about inflation,” Latifah said. “You know what’s not facing inflation?”
“Equal pay for Black actresses,” Taraji P. Henson chimed in from the audience. The Color Purple star, who won the first award of the evening for her role in the film, has been outspoken about her struggles to receive increased compensation despite her long career, including awards recognition for her performances in hit projects.
Latifah thanked Henson for “standing for all of us” and invited other Black actresses in the audience to stand and then others to stand to show their support.
“We’ve always done more than survive, we’ve thrived,” Latifah said. “This is our country, and we have to save it again.” She urged people to go to the polls in November.
As she accepted her award, Henson said she was surprised but “grateful.”
“Thank you for showing up for me all the time,” she told the audience, alluding to her comments about pay inequality.
“It’s a scary thing to speak your truth but I urge you all to speak your truth because at end of the day, our truth is all we have,” Henson said. “The truth will set you free and set someone else free.”
She went on to thank “every woman and person in the struggle together.”
In addition to the competitive awards, Saturday night Amanda Gorman will be recognized with the Chairman’s Award, Usher will receive the President’s Award, and New Edition will be inducted into the NAACP Image Awards Hall of Fame.
Andra Day is set to perform at the event where presenters include Delroy Lindo, Deon Cole, Diarra Kilpatrick, Donnie Wahlberg, Erika Alexander, Idris Elba, Jeffrey Wright, Keke Palmer, Kenya Barris, Kerry Washington, Leslie Jones, Lil Rel Howery, Morris Chestnut, Ryan Michelle Bathe, Sabrina Elba, Sterling K. Brown and Taraji P. Henson.
Winners were announced in virtual ceremonies on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
Thursday, more winners were named during a non-televised gala event at the Hollywood Palladium hosted by Sherri Shepherd, who also took home the award for outstanding host in a talk or news/information series or special. Thursday night’s winners included best comedy series champ Abbott Elementary, which also won in the supporting actor category for William Stanford Davis’ performance, and Ayo Edebiri added to her awards season haul with a best supporting actress in a comedy series prize for The Bear. Best drama series went to Queen Charlotte while the supporting actor and actress in a drama series awards went to Bel-Air‘s Adrian Holmes and Snowfall‘s Gail Bean, respectively. Swarm won in the best TV movie, limited series or dramatic special category. Additionally, Thursday, Ava DuVernay won best directing in a motion picture for Origin, and Cord Jefferson followed his best adapted screenplay Oscar with an outstanding writing in a motion picture win for American Fiction. Singer-songwriter Frankie Beverly also received the NAACP Image Awards’ Lifetime Achievement Award.
Friday, additional awards were presented at a fashion show hosted by Brandee Evans. There, The Color Purple swept the three categories presented, winning best costume design, hair styling and make-up. And June Ambrose received the NAACP Vanguard Award for Fashion.
A complete list of the nominees in categories being presented Saturday night follows. Winners will be updated as they’re announced live. Refresh for the latest.
Entertainer of the Year
Colman Domingo
Fantasia Barrino
Halle Bailey
Keke Palmer
Usher
Outstanding Motion Picture
American Fiction (Orion Pictures / Amazon MGM Studios)
Origin (NEON)
Rustin (Netflix)
The Color Purple (Warner Bros. Pictures)
They Cloned Tyrone (Netflix)
Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture
Colman Domingo – Rustin (Netflix)
Denzel Washington – The Equalizer 3 (Sony Pictures Releasing)
Jamie Foxx – The Burial (Amazon MGM Studios)
Jeffrey Wright – American Fiction (Orion Pictures / Amazon MGM Studios)
John Boyega – They Cloned Tyrone (Netflix)
Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture
Aunjanue Ellis–Taylor – Origin (NEON)
Fantasia Barrino – The Color Purple (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Halle Bailey – The Little Mermaid (Walt Disney Pictures)
Teyana Taylor – A Thousand And One (Focus Features)
Yara Shahidi – Sitting in Bars with Cake (Amazon MGM Studios)
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture
Colman Domingo – The Color Purple (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Corey Hawkins – The Color Purple (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Glynn Turman – Rustin (Netflix)
Jamie Foxx – They Cloned Tyrone (Netflix)
Sterling K. Brown – American Fiction (Orion Pictures / Amazon MGM Studios)
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture
Danielle Brooks – The Color Purple (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Da’Vine Joy Randolph – The Holdovers (Focus Features)
Erika Alexander – American Fiction (Orion Pictures / Amazon MGM Studios)
Halle Bailey – The Color Purple (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Taraji P. Henson – The Color Purple (Warner Bros. Pictures) (WINNER)
Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series
Cedric The Entertainer – The Neighborhood (CBS)
Delroy Lindo – UnPrisoned (Hulu/Onyx)
Dulé Hill – The Wonder Years (ABC)
Mike Epps – The Upshaws (Netflix) (WINNER)
Tone Bell – Survival of the Thickest (Netflix)
Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series
Kerry Washington – UnPrisoned (Hulu/Onyx)
Meagan Good – Harlem (Amazon Prime Video)
Michelle Buteau – Survival of the Thickest (Netflix)
Quinta Brunson – Abbott Elementary (ABC) (WINNER)
Tichina Arnold – The Neighborhood (CBS)
Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series
Damson Idris – Snowfall (FX)
Forest Whitaker – Godfather of Harlem (MGM+)
Idris Elba – Hijack (Apple TV+)
Jabari Banks – Bel–Air (Peacock)
Jesse L. Martin – The Irrational (NBC)
Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series
Angela Bassett – 9–1–1 (FOX)
India Ria Amarteifio – Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story (Netflix)
Octavia Spencer – Truth Be Told (Apple TV+)
Queen Latifah – The Equalizer (CBS)
Zoe Saldaña – Special Ops: Lioness (Paramount+)
