PASADENA, Calif. — Angela Bassett won entertainer of the year at Saturday's NAACP Image Awards on a night that also saw her take home an acting trophy for the television series “9-1-1.”
The Bassett-led Marvel superhero sequel “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” won best motion picture at the ceremony, which was broadcast live on BET from Pasadena, California.
Viola Davis won outstanding actress for the action epic “The Woman King,” a project she championed and starred in. Will Smith won for the slavery drama“Emancipation,” his first release since last year's Academy Awards, where he slapped comedian Chris Rock on stage before winning his first best actor trophy.
“I never want to not be brave enough as a woman, as a Black woman, as an artist," Davis said, referencing a quote from her character in the film, which she called her magnum opus. “I thank everyone who was involved with ‘The Woman King’ because that was just nothing but high-octane bravery.”
“Abbott Elementary” won for outstanding comedy series. Creator and series star Quinta Brunson invited her costars onstage and praised shows like “black-ish” for paving the way for her series.
The 54 NAACP Image Awards were presented Saturday in Pasadena, California, with Queen Latifah hosting. Serena Williams received the Jackie Robinson Sports award, which recognizes individuals in sports for high achievement in athletics along with their pursuit of social justice, civil rights and community involvement.
The ceremony, which honors entertainers, athletes and writers of color, was hosted by Queen Latifah. Special honorees included Dwyane Wade and Gabrielle Union and civil rights attorney Ben Crump.
The league launched an initiative aimed at empowering women and girls by partnering with organizations like Planned Parenthood and It's On Us. "This is basically encoded in our DNA and has been for the 22 years that we've been in existence," WNBA President Lisa Borders tells Cheddar.
Match, which acquired a 51 percent stake in the dating app last week, will help the company scale both domestically and around the world, said Hinge CEO Justin McLeod. Match's portfolio also includes Tinder and OkCupid.
Rich Fulop, CEO of Brooklinen, tells Cheddar about how he was able to turn an idea into a full-time, thriving business.
AMC Theaters rolled out its MoviePass competitor Tuesday, dealing another blow to a company that's been hemorrhaging money and trying one strategy after another to stay afloat. PCMag's Rob Marvin says that, while he likes MoviePass as a customer, its "business model is fundamentally an unprofitable one."
Instagram is now estimated at over $100 billion in value. Venmo rolls out an actual plastic debit card with Mastercard. The FDA approves its first marijuana-derived medication. The newest member of the Bush family is Sully the service dog. The yellow lab has been assigned to President George H.W. Bush, who is 94, and recovering from recent hospitalizations.
The "Real Housewives of New York" star says she leveraged her entrepreneurial skill set to raise money for projects in Guatemala and Puerto Rico. "I knew that skill set ... I know how to manage and execute," says Frankel.
The actor, who has been diagnosed with cerebral palsy, says the industry needs to incorporate more people with disabilities to change perception.
Some of Hollywood's hottest artists and industry leaders are speaking out on diversity and inclusion. The biggest names at the American Black Film Festival in Miami join Cheddar to discuss the issues in the showbiz spotlight.
Trade tensions are heating up again as reports emerge that President Trump is planning to block Chinese investments in U.S. tech companies. Plus, Harley-Davidson announced it will move some of its U.S. production to facilities in Europe in an effort to avoid retaliatory tariffs from the EU.
Celebrity chef Sheldon Simeon joins Cheddar to talk about the opening of his second restaurant in Hawaii this summer. Simeon, a native-born Hawaiian, also weighs in on the devastating volcanic eruptions across Hawaii and urges people to travel to the islands.
Reed Hastings made the decision to fire communications head Jonathan Friedland after he used a racial slur on two different occasions and laid out the details of each incident in a companywide email. "That is new; we haven't seen that type of transparency," says Axios reporter Sara Fischer, commending how Netflix handled the issue.
