By Tribune Staff
Lizzo captured the most prestigious award Saturday night at the 51st NAACP Image Awards, as she was crowned Entertainer of the Year. The show was hosted by “Black-ish’s” Anthony Anderson. Anderson also earned his sixth Image award during the ceremony.
“Just Mercy” was voted outstanding motion picture, and both Michael B. Jordan and Jamie Foxx won acting awards for their performances. Lupita Nyong’o was named Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture for “Us,” and Marsai Martin won Outstanding Supporting Actress for “LIttle.”
“Greenleaf” was named Outstanding Drama Series, and “Black-ish” Best Comedy Series. Omari Hardwick and Jharrel Jerome won awards for their performances in “Power” and Ava DuVernay’s “When They see Us” respectively. Niecy Nash also won an award for her participation in the limited series about the Central Park Five. Angela Bassett won Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series for “911,” and Tracee Ellis Ross” was named Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series for “Black-ish.” The show had other winners, among them Anderson for Outstanding Actor and Martin for Outstanding Supporting Actress, both in a Comedy Series.
.Lil Nas X was named Breakthrough Artist, while Bruno Mars was selected Outstanding Male Artist. Beyoncé won Outstanding Variety Show for “Homecoming,” as well as Outstanding album and Female Artist. There was also a special tribute paid to Kobe Bryant
BET aired the show live from 7-9 p.m. CST. Other award winners included Rihanna (President’s Award), and Congressman John Lewis (NAACP Chairman’s Award).
The awards show aired live from Pasadena on BET from 8-10 p.m. ET. Netflix led the TV nominations with 30, with an additional 12 in the film categories, for a total of 42. Universal Pictures led the motion picture categories with 15 mentions, while RCA Records led in the music recording categories with 14 and Penguin Random House led with eight in the literary categories.