Kevin Hart was named Entertainer of the Year while “12 Years a Slave” racked up another four awards including for motion picture at the NAACP Image Awards, which were held Saturday at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium.
Hart said he was a “real mama’s boy” and dedicated his prize to his mother, who recently passed away.
Steve McQueen and writer John Ridley won kudos for “12 Years” during a non-televised portion of the show Friday, while supporting actress Lupita Nyong’o said she was honored to win for a film ”that has inspired discourse long overdue.”
Forest Whitaker and David Oyelowo were honored for their roles in “Lee Daniels’ The Butler” and Angela Bassett won the lead actress prize for “Black Nativity.” Whitaker was also honored with the NAACP Chairman’s Award. “I’m one of those with a funny accent and an African name,” Oyelowo referencing emcee Anthony Anderson’s earlier jokes about Brit actors with their accents and African names in his speech who cross the Pond to grab roles in Hollywood.
Meanwhile, Whitaker quoted a song from Nat King Cole, “The greatest thing you’ll ever learn is to love and be loved.”
On the television side, Hart and his BET show “Real Husbands of Hollywood” were honored for comedy, while Kerry Washington, Joe Morton and ABC’s “Scandal” picked up three awards for drama. Since showrunner Shonda Rhimes was unable to attend, Washington accepted the “Scandal” award. In her own acceptance speech, Washington said, “The historic nature of this role is due not to lack of talent, but lack of opportunity.”
