FOX's 'Empire' Wins Big at the 2016 NAACP Image Awards, Takes Home 5 Awards
21st Century Fox Social Impact
FOX was well-represented at the 47th NAACP Image Awards on February 5, which celebrated the year in “outstanding achievements and performances of people of color in the arts, as well as those individuals or groups who promote social justice through their creative endeavors,” according to the NAACP’s website. The blockbuster drama Empire, which was recently renewed for a third season, won five Image awards:
- Outstanding Drama Series
- Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series: Terrence Howard
- Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series: Taraji P. Henson
- Outstanding Duo, Group or Collaboration: “Conqueror” – “Empire” cast feat. Estelle & Jussie Smollett (Columbia Records)
- Outstanding Song – Contemporary: “You’re So Beautiful” – “Empire” cast feat. Jussie Smollett & Yazz (Columbia Records)
In addition to his awards for Empire’s music, Smollett was one of eight recipients of the 2016 NAACP Chairman’s Award, which honors individuals and organizations for “using their distinct platforms to be agents of change.”
“The recipients’ paths are diverse. Their missions and goals are varied, but what unites them, what binds them together, what has earned them our respect is their courage,” said Roslyn M. Brock, Chairman of the National Board of Directors for the NAACP. “They’re activists and agents of change who are symbols of our fight against oppression.”
“Black lives matter and brown lives matter and LGBT lives matter,” Smollett said. “The issues of the black community are the issues of humanity.”
Several other series from across 21st Century Fox were nominated, as well, including acting nominations for FOX’s Rosewood, Sleepy Hollow, and Brooklyn Nine-Nine, as well as FX’s Archer and American Horror Story: Hotel. In the film categories, Alfonso Gomez-Rejon was nominated for directing Fox Searchlight's Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, and Chiwetel Ejiofor was nominated for his performance in Twentieth Century Fox's The Martian.
