NAACP Image Awards: Ayo Edebiri, Keke Palmer, Marlon Wayans and Jamie Foxx’s ‘What Had Happened Was’ Comedy Special Get Early Wins

The 56th NAACP Image Awards have officially kicked off with Ayo Edebiri, Keke Palmer, Marlon Wayans and Jamie Foxx among the first set of winners during the pre-awards ceremony.

The two-night virtual event streams on the NAACP Image Awards YouTube channel, with night one hosted By Angel “ThatChickAngel” Laketa Moore and Marcus Tanksley.

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A handful of awards were presented including Edebiri for outstanding breakthrough creative for television for FX’s “The Bear”; Palmer as host of NBC’s “Password”; Marlon Wayans for his guest performance on Peacock’s “Bel-Air”; and Foxx’s Netflix comedy special “What Had Happened Was,” as well as film and TV writing and directing honors; numerous short film prizes; and winners in the literary categories.

Taraji P. Henson won two Image Awards: one for outstanding supporting actress in a limited television series, special or movie for Peacock’s “Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist” (her co-star Samuel L. Jackson picked up the supporting actor prize) and as the author of the children’s book “You Can Be a Good Friend (No Matter What!): A Lil TJ Book.”

MSNBC host Joy Ann Reid also won two awards for her show “The Reidout” (outstanding news/information series or special) and as the author of the biography “Medgar and Myrlie: Medgar Evers and the Love Story That Awakened America.” The hit YouTube series “Gracie’s Corner” picked up two prizes (outstanding children’s program and outstanding animated series).

Leah Sava Jeffries, star of “Percy Jackson and the Olympics” on Disney+, won the award for outstanding performance in the TV categories, while Cree Summer, who was also nominated for outstanding guest performance for “Abbott Elementary,” took home the Image Award for outstanding voiceover performance on television for her work on Nickelodeon’s “Rugrats.”

The 56th Image Awards broadcast will take place on Feb. 22, airing live from the Pasadena Civic Auditorium at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on BET and CBS.

Special honorees include Vice President Kamala Harris, who will receive the Chairman’s Award; trailblazing comedian Dave Chappelle, who will be awarded the President’s Award; and the Wayans family — namely Keenen Ivory Wayans, Damon Wayans Sr., Marlon Wayans, Shawn Wayans, Kim Wayans and Damon Wayans Jr. — who will be inducted into the NAACP Image Awards Hall of Fame. Jotaka Eaddy, founder and CEO of #WinWithBlackWomen, and Essence Communications will receive special awards at the Creative Honors ceremony on Feb. 21.

This year, the Image Awards broadcast will be extended by 30 minutes to two and a half hours, with the ceremony also used to drive support for the Altadena, Pacific Palisades and Pasadena communities affected by the recent wildfires. BET Media Group, NAACP, Johnson Shapiro Slewett & Kole and WME partnered with L.A. County and collaborated with local community organizations, including Community Aid Dena, Altadena Heritage and WalkGood LA, to launch the Altadena Community Preservation Fund, which is aimed at protecting homeowners from displacement and preserving the community’s cultural heritage.

[Pictured above: Ayo Edebiri on “The Bear”; Marlon Wayans on “Bel-Air”; Keke Palmer hosting “Password”; Jamie Foxx on “Jamie Foxx: What Had Happened Was.”]

The full list of winners from Night 1 of the virtual Image Awards ceremonies are below:

Outstanding Children’s Program
“Gracie’s Corner” (YouTube TV)

Outstanding Performance by a Youth (Series, Special, Television Movie or Limited Series)
Leah Sava Jeffries – “Percy Jackson and the Olympics” (Disney+)

Outstanding Animated Series
“Gracie’s Corner” (YouTube TV)

Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance (Television)
Cree Summer – “Rugrats” (Nickelodeon)

Outstanding Literary Work – Fiction
“One of Us Knows: A Thriller” – Alyssa Cole (William Morrow – HarperCollins Publishers)

Outstanding Literary Work – Non-Fiction
“Love & Whiskey: The Remarkable True Story of Jack Daniel, His Master Distiller Nearest Green, and the Improbable Rise of Uncle Nearest” – Fawn Weaver (Melcher Media Inc.)

Outstanding Literary Work – Debut Author
Sarai Johnson – “Grown Women” (Harper – HarperCollins Publishers)

Outstanding Literary Work – Biography/Autobiography
“Medgar and Myrlie: Medgar Evers and the Love Story That Awakened America” – Joy-Ann Reid (Mariner Books – HarperCollins Publishers)

Outstanding Literary Work – Instructional
“Wash Day: Passing on the Legacy, Rituals, and Love of Natural Hair” – Tomesha Faxio (Clarkson Potter – Crown Publishing Group)

Outstanding Literary Work – Poetry
“This Is the Honey: An Anthology of Contemporary Black Poets” – Kwame Alexander (Little, Brown and Company – Hachette Book Group)

Outstanding Literary Work – Children
“You Can Be a Good Friend (No Matter What!): A Lil TJ Book” – Taraji P. Henson, Paul Kellam (Zonderkidz – HarperCollins Publishers)

Outstanding Literary Work – Youth/Teens
“Brushed Between Cultures: A YA Coming of Age Novel Set in Brooklyn, New York” – Samarra St. Hilaire (Self-Published)

Outstanding Literary Work – Graphic Novel
“Punk Rock Karaoke” – Bianca Xunise

Outstanding Variety (Series or Special)
“Jamie Foxx: What Had Happened Was” (Netflix)

Outstanding Guest Performance
Marlon Wayans – “Bel-Air” (Peacock)

Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series
Crystal Jenkins – “No Good Deed – Letters of Intent” Netflix)

Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series
Ben Watkins – Cross “Hero Complex” (Prime Video)

Outstanding Writing in a Television Movie or Special
Juel Taylor, Tony Rettenmaier, Thembi L. Banks – “Young. Wild. Free.” (BET+)

Outstanding Breakthrough Creative (Television)
Ayo Edebiri – “The Bear” (FX/Hulu)

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Television (Series, Special, Movie)
Taraji P. Henson – “Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist” (Peacock)

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Television (Series, Special, Movie)
Samuel L. Jackson – “Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist” (Peacock)

Outstanding Directing in a Television Movie or Special
Tina Mabry – “The Supremes at Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat” (Hulu)

Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series
Tiffany Johnson – “How to Die Alone – ‘Trust No One’” (Hulu)

Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series
Rapman – “Supacell – ‘Supacell’” (Netflix)

Outstanding News/Information (Series or Special)
“The Reidout” (MSNBC)

Outstanding Host in a Reality/Reality Competition, Game Show or Variety (Series or Special) – Individual or Ensemble
Keke Palmer – “Password” (NBC)

Outstanding Reality Program, Reality Competition Services/Game Show
“Celebrity Family Feud” (ABC)

Outstanding ShortForm Series or Special – Reality/Nonfiction/Documentary
“The Prince of Death Row Records” (YouTube TV)

Outstanding Short Form Documentary (Film)
“How to Sue the Klan”

Outstanding Short Form (Live Action)
“Superman Doesn’t Steal”

Outstanding Short Form (Animated)
“Peanut Headz: Black History Toonz “Jackie Robinson” (Exhibit Treal Studios)

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