LOS ANGELES – The NAACP and TV One has announced that Anthony Anderson will serve as host for the 45th NAACP Image Awards and the first group of presenters confirmed include Lupita Nyong’o, Tyler Perry, Michael Ealy, Tony Goldwyn, Arsenio Hall, Gabrielle Union, Regina Hall, Octavia Spencer, Archie Panjabi, Dennis Haysbert, Rickey Smiley, Nicole Beharie, and Lou Gossett Jr. The 45th NAACP Image Awards will broadcast LIVE from the Pasadena Civic Auditorium on Saturday, February 22, 9 p.m. ET/PT tape-delayed as a two-hour star-studded special on TV One. The telecast will also include a one-hour pre-show airing live from the red carpet (8 p.m. ET/PT tape-delayed).
Dennis Haysbert will also be the in-show announcer. In addition, the NAACP “Entertainer of the Year” will be revealed. This special honor is bestowed upon an individual within the entertainment industry who has achieved notable success in multiple projects and mediums. This year, individuals (including non-NAACP members) could cast their vote online via the Image Awards main website [www.naacpimageawards.net] to help decide who among the following contenders would be recognized: Beyoncé, Dwayne Johnson, Idris Elba, Kevin Hart, Nicole Beharie, and Oprah Winfrey. Fans could cast their vote once a day until the February 14 deadline.
As previously announced, Academy Award-winning actor, producer, director and 2014 Image Award nominee Forest Whitaker will receive the NAACP Chairman’s Award. Paris Barclay and Cheryl Boone Isaacs, the first African-American Presidents of the Directors Guild of America and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, respectively, will be inducted into the Image Awards Hall of Fame.
The NAACP Image Awards are recognized as the preeminent multi-cultural awards show, from an African-American point of view. The NAACP Image Awards celebrates the accomplishments of people of color in the fields of television, music, literature and film and also honors individuals or groups who promote social justice through creative endeavors. Winners will be voted upon by NAACP members and announced when the envelopes are opened on Friday, February 21 during the Awards Ceremony for non-televised categories. The remaining categories will be announced LIVE on stage during the TV One telecast on Saturday, February 22.
The NAACP Image Awards are being produced by Reginald Hudlin and Phil Gurin. The production team will also include Tony McCuin as Director and Suzanne Bender and Stephanie Sacco as Talent Producers.
Founded in 1909, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is the nation’s oldest and largest civil rights organization. The organization’s half-million adult and youth members throughout the United States and the world are the premier advocates for civil rights in their communities and monitor equal opportunity in the public and private sectors.
The 45th NAACP Image Awards are sponsored by: Walmart, UAW-Chrysler, FedEx, AT&T, Hyundai Motor America, Gilead Sciences, Wells Fargo, Ford Motor Company, PepsiCo, Southwest Airlines, Bank of America, Walgreens, General Motors, and AARP.
