NAACP Image Awards 2022: Will Smith, Angela Bassett, Issa Rae Among Winners

Over the weekend, the 2022 NAACP Image Awards went down airing live across BET, BET Her, VH1 and more.

Hosted by Anthony Anderson, the two-hour-long show saw a plethora of Blackity-black winners and presenters (I mean, duh.) Folks like Kerry Washington, Tiffany Haddish, Zendaya, Paula Patton, Questlove, LL Cool J and more all made appearances but let’s be real: You didn’t come here to read about that, you came for the winners! So let’s get to it!

I should preface this by sharing that a whole host of winners were announced in the days leading up to the actual ceremony itself, including Jazmine Sullivan, Anthony Hamilton, Silk Sonic, Saweetie, Wizkid and more who walked away with trophies in the music categories. But on Saturday night, TV and film were the main focus, and Sterling K. Brown kicked the night off by earning the award for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series for his role in This Is Us. Angela Bassett followed close behind, taking home the W for Outstanding Actress in a Drama for her role in 9-1-1.

On the comedy series side, Anthony Anderson and Issa Rae snagged wins for their respective roles in Black-ish and Insecure. Rae also made a second appearance and petitioned the audience to campaign for her to host the Image Awards come next year now that her ever-popular series is over. (Highkey, I’m here for it and you probably are too so let’s get #IssaforImageAwards2023 trending ASAP.) Insecure also took home the award for Outstanding Comedy Series.

On the movie front, Will Smith and Jennifer Hudson were recognized for their roles in King Richard and Respect—uhh—respectively. Hudson also walked away with the Entertainer of the Year Award later on in the night. Jeymes Samuel’s The Harder They Fall rounded out the category, securing a win for Outstanding Motion Picture (Finally! The #YeeHawAgenda lives on!)

In addition to the aforementioned awards, several other special people were recognized throughout the night. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex appeared in person to receive the President’s Award. In his speech, Prince Harry thanked the Black community for embracing him, while his stunning wife Meghan Markle echoed similar sentiments and expounded on their life-long dedication to public service. Markle also took the time to thank her mom, who was also present sitting in the audience with her.

The 1619 Project creator Nikole-Hannah Jones also appeared in person to accept the Social Justice Impact Award while iconic actor Samuel L. Jackson appeared remotely to accept the prestigious Chairman’s Award. In his speech, Jackson implored viewers to use their “voice, legs, and body” to make positive change and reiterated the importance and need for passing the Voting Rights Acts and fair voting policies and practices.

Other previously announced winners who were acknowledged that night included Vanguard Award recipient Ruth E. Carter, Regina King, Deon Cole. Natasha Rothwell, and Red Table Talk. Congratulations to all these winners, here’s to you all’s continued success!

For the complete (and extensive) list of winners, head on over to naacpimageawards.net.