52nd NAACP Image Awards Nominees Announced

Today, the full-list of nominees for the 52nd NAACP Image Awards were announced today in a special virtual event on NAACP Image Awards’ Instagram channel hosted by Tony-award winning actress and singer Anika Noni-Rose, actress and singer Chloe Bailey, actress Erika Alexander, actor, dancer, and choreographer Nicco Annan, and actor and singer TC Carson. NAACP Image award-winning and Emmy-nominated talk show “The Real”, kicked-off the announcement revealing nominees in 15 categories (watch here) ahead of the virtual event. The winners will be revealed during the two-hour LIVE TV special airing on BET and will be simulcast across ViacomCBS Networks including CBS, BET Her, VH1, MTV, MTV2, and LOGO on Saturday, March 27th, 2021 at 8/7c.

With the rise in usage of streaming services this year, Netflix leads the nominations across the motion picture and television categories with 48 total nominations followed by HBO who received a total of 25 nominations. Beyonce received the most nominations of any artist in the music recording categories with 6 and RCA Records leads with the most nominations across record labels with 12 nominations. For the literary categories HarperCollins Publishers lead with 9 nominations.

NAACP additionally announced the nominees for the Special Awards categories which include Entertainer of the Year and Social Justice Impact. Nominees for the Entertainer of the Year award include D-Nice, Regina King, Trevor Noah, Tyler Perry and Viola Davis. Nominees for the Social Justice Impact award include April Ryan, Debbie Allen, Lebron James, Stacey Abrams and Tamika Mallory.

“We are excited to recognize and celebrate this year’s nominees, who at times throughout this unprecedented year have provided moments of levity, brought our communities together, and lifted our spirits through culture when we needed it the most,” said NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson.

“BET shares the NAACP’s commitment to engage and empower our community, and we are proud to serve as partners on the 52nd Annual Image Awards,” said BET President Scott Mills. “The NAACP Image Awards uniquely honors our culture and community, recognizing those who help tell our stories through music, TV, movies, and literature. It is a distinct privilege for us to amplify the incredible work of the NAACP—and the best and brightest creative minds in the entertainment industry—across our ViacomCBS properties.

The NAACP Image Awards honors the accomplishments of people of color in the fields of television, music, literature, and film and also recognizes individuals or groups who promote social justice through creative endeavors.

One of the most iconic annual celebrations of Black excellence, the NAACP Image Awards draws a crowd of the biggest and brightest stars in Hollywood. Previous years’ attendees include Rihanna, Lizzo, Beyonce, Jay-Z, Michael B. Jordan, Oprah Winfrey, Jamie Foxx, Will Smith, Taraji P. Henson, Marsai Martin, Viola Davis, Gabrielle Union, Kerry Washington, Anthony Anderson, Sterling K. Brown, Loni Love, Sheryl Underwood, Mandy Moore, Halle Berry, Common, Dwayne Johnson, Audra Day, John Legend, Lena Waithe, Tracee Ellis Ross, David Oyelowo, Laverne Cox, Octavia Spencer, Issa Rae, Trevor Noah, Yara Shahidi, Danai Gurira, Jacob Latimore, Jill Scott, H.E.R., Jay Pharoah, Jemele Hill, Josh Gad, Loretta Devine, Sylvester Stallone, Meta Golding, Michael Smith, Tyler James Williams, Ava DuVernay, Chadwick Boseman, and many more.

Voting is now open to the public to determine the winners of the 52ND NAACP IMAGE AWARDS by visiting www.naacpimageawards.net – Voting close on Friday, March 5th. Winners will be revealed during the 52st NAACP Image Awards telecast. Non-televised award categories will be announced virtually March 22-26. For all information and the latest news, please follow NAACP Image Awards on Instagram @NAACPImageAwards.