Oscar winners Forest Whitaker and Jennifer Hudson kept their winning streaks alive, while Grey's Anatomy star Isaiah Washington claimed a coveted prize at the 38th annual NAACP Image Awards Friday.
Washington, who has been sharply criticized for uttering a gay slur on the set of his hit show, scored Best Actor for a Drama Series.
"I'm humbled and honored to be recognized by the NAACP," said the 43-year-old Washington, who announced earlier this year he would seek counseling after receiving a torrent of negative publicity for his comments.
"The first time I was up here I felt deserving of something," the humble star added. "This time I feel privileged."
In addition, Grey's Anatomy won for Best Drama Series, Chandra Wilson won for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series, and creator Shonda Rhimes took home the honors for Best Writing in a Drama Series. While he did not win, James Pickens, Jr., was nominated for Best Supporting Actor and was on hand along with his fellow castmates.
Wilson, one of Grey's Anatomy's most honored stars, wished her deceased father was with her on what would have been his birthday.
"His little daughter is real happy to be standing here," she said.
"The Pursuit of Happyness," starring Will Smith and his son, won picture honors. Keke Palmer nabbed actress for "Akeelah and the Bee," and Djimon Hounsou took supporting actor for "Blood Diamond."
Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama won a literary nonfiction Image Award for his book, "The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream." Obama did not attend the ceremony.
Prince, who was awarded best male music artist, read a poem about protecting the environment.
"Fifty years from now, what will they say about us?" Prince asked.
Congratulations to all who were victorious and honored for their fine work on this night. Follow the link for the complete list of winners:
Comedy Series: "Ugly Betty"
Director Of Comedy Series: Kenneth Whittingham, "The Office."
Actor In A Comedy Series: Tyler James Williams, "Everybody Hates Chris."
Actress In A Comedy Series: Tracee Ellis Ross, "Girlfriends."
Supporting Actor In A Comedy Series: Reggie Hayes, "Girlfriends"
Supporting Actress In A Comedy Series: Vanessa Williams, "Ugly Betty"
Writing In Comedy Series: Silvio Horta, "Ugly Betty."
Drama Series: "Grey's Anatomy"
Director Of Drama Series: Karen Gaviola, "The Whole Truth."
Actor In A Drama Series: Isaiah Washington. "Grey's Anatomy"
Actress In Drama Series: Kimberly Elise, "Close To Home."
Supporting Actor In A Drama Series: Omar Epps, "House."
Supporting Actress In A Drama Series: Chandra Wilson, "Grey's Anatomy"
Writing In Drama Series: Shonda Rhimes, "Grey's Anatomy," "It's The End Of The World...."
TV Movie, Miniseries, Or Dramatic Special: "When The Levees Broke: A Requiem In Four Acts."
Actor In A TV Movie, Miniseries Or Dramatic Special: Kadeem Hardison, "Life Is Not A Fairytale: The Fantasia Barrino Story."
Actress In A TV Movie, Miniseries Or Dramatic Special: Sophie Okonedo, "Tsunami, The Aftermath."
Actor In A Daytime Drama Series: Kristoff St. John, "The Young And The Restless."
Actress In A Daytime Drama Series: Tracy Ross, "Passions."
News, Talk Or Information, Series Or Special: Tavis Smiley, "Katrina--One Year Later."
Reality: "American Idol."
Variety Series Or Special: "An Evening Of Stars: Tribute To Stevie Wonder."
Children's Program: "That's So Raven"
Performance, Children's Program: Raven Symone. "That's So Raven"
MOTION PICTURE
Motion Picture:"The Pursuit Of Happyness."
Actor In A Motion Picture: Forest Whitaker, "The Last King Of Scotland."
Actress In A Motion Picture: Keke Palmer, "Akeelah And The Bee."
Supporting Actor In A Motion Picture: Djimon Hounsou, "Blood Diamond."
Supporting Actress In A Motion Picture: Jennifer Hudson, "Dreamgirls."
Independent Or Foreign Film: "An Inconvenient Truth."
Director Of Motion Picture, Television Movie: Spike Lee, "The Inside Man."
Writing For Motion Picture, Television Movie: Doug Atchison, "Akeelah And The Bee."
LITERATURE
Literary Work, Fiction: "Baby Brother's Blues," Pearl Cleage.
Literary Work, Nonfiction: "The Audacity Of Hope: Thoughts On Reclaiming The American Dream," Barack Obama.
Debut Author: "Letters To A Young Brother," Hill Harper.
Biography, Autobiography: "The Pursuit Of Happyness," Christ Gardner.
Instructional: "Mama Made The Difference," T.D. Jakes.
Poetry: "Celebrations: Rituals Of Peace And Prayer," Maya Angelou.
Children: "Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People To Freedom," Carole Boston Weatherford.
Youth/Teens: "Letters To A Young Brother," Hill Harper.
MUSIC
New Artist: Corinne Bailey Rae.
Male Artist: Prince
Female Artist: Mary J. Blige.
Duo or Group: The Roots.
Jazz Artist: Glady Knight.
Gospel Artist, Traditional Or Contemporary: Kirk Franklin.
Music Video: Mary J. Blige, "Be Without You."
Song: "I Am Not My Hair," India.Arie.
Album: "Dreamgirls" (Soundtrack)
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14 Comments
March 5th, 2007 1:06 PM
Congratulations to Isaiah, Chandra and the entire cast for a job well done!!! Congrats, also, to James Pickens on your nomination. You are all fantastic actors and I truly enjoying watching every week. Keep up the good work.
March 5th, 2007 1:09 PM
Oops.....Congrats to Shonda, also!! No one would be here without your creative writing!
March 5th, 2007 2:39 PM
This is certainly a proud achievement to us GA fans--what an honor for Isaiah Washington! And congratulations Chandra, James, and the rest of cast and crew!
March 5th, 2007 7:57 PM
I agree, congrats to Isaiah, Chandra, James, Shonda and the GA show.
March 5th, 2007 9:03 PM
Thank you for the article regarding the NAACP Image Awards. Wouldn't it be nice though if we could have just one article that praised this fantastic actor's achievements without referring to the one word incident that has hung over his head for the past four months. I don't mean to be ungrateful. I'm glad that you printed anything at all. But, there were lots of things that could have been said. You could have mentioned the standing ovation he received from his peers including the other nominees in his category. You could have mentioned the words of support shouted from the crowd when he took the stage. You could have mentioned his humility and graciousness in his acceptance. He didn't say he was privileged to receive this award he said he was extraordinarily privileged. There were beautiful pictures of Isaiah with Chandra and James or Isaiah and his wife, Jenisa, or Isaiah alone that were much nicer than the one shown here. You could have mentioned how emotional he was in his acceptance speech, how he was near tears several times and got especially choked up thanking the people who had supported him. This award obviously meant a great deal to this actor this year. If I were writing this article I would have mentioned that he looked thiin and sad and that this entire four months has obviously been a strain on him. If you liked the actor, as i do, you would have mentioned the fact that in spite of all of the stress and unhappiness of the past few months, he continues to give excellent performances on GA as Dr. Preston Burke week in and week out. I know that greysanatomyinsider tries hard to please all of the fans of GA that log in and I appreciate that. But, there are many on this website who would like to put the incident in October behind us and behiind Isaiah and focus on the good work of the actor from this past year while looking ahead to the good work yet to come.
March 6th, 2007 5:13 AM
Burke Backer, i am totally on your side! but did burke get a standing ovation this time around? or last year? anyway, the issue happened SO long ago! Give Burke a break!
March 6th, 2007 8:07 AM
This post was not meant to slight Mr. Washington or diminish his accomplishments. Rather, it was all we had to go on based on the fact that our staff did not see the event, nor could we find clear images of him from it, and thus only had others' reports to work from.
As much as the Insider tries to cover all things Grey's Anatomy, we are in some ways limited to the coverage accessible to us as well. As always, if you can find any pictures or news that you would like posted about the show or its stars, please email it to steve@greysanatomyinsider.com - that applies in this case and in future cases.
It's hard to be everywhere at once, and the more help we get from fans, the better this fan site can be.
March 6th, 2007 10:09 PM
Thank you for your response. It was very nice of you to explain. I can imagine and do understand how hard it is to keep up with everyone from such a large cast and you do an excellent job. This is the best overall Grey's Anatomy site on the internet including abc.com. I admit that I am over sensitive to the issues surrounding Isaiah. This is especially true after seeing him at the Image awards. He was so obviously emotional and sad. He has obviously been put through so much this last few months.
It is one thing for people to say that it was wrong to use a derrogatory word in the argument, whether or not the word was directed at anyone, and that apologies are in order. But when someone gives a heartfelt apology and the media just won't let go of it to the point of hounding this man as he leaves restaurants, and having supposed fans of the show write truly hateful things about him over something that in the overall scheme of things is pretty minor, is really very sad. It is no wonder that he attempted to defend himself at the Golden Globes from Ted Casablanca's question, regardless of how clumsy and inappropriate the attempt was.
I become defensive of anyone that I feel is being ganged up on unfairly and that is my reaction to the over the top way that this entire incident has been treated. It is really time to celebrate this actor's accomplishments and move past the mistakes.
There were almost 30 pictures of Isaiah on imagewire.com from this event. I do not know how to get the pictures to Steve, but if sending the website where he can find them will help, I am happy to do it in the future. Thanks again. Greysanatomyinsider truly is a great place to discuss our show and your efforts are much appreciated.
March 6th, 2007 10:20 PM
Ilovesgreysanatomy, Isaiah got a standing ovation last Friday at this year's NAACP Image Awards. It was lovely to see and he was so moved by it. Even the other nominees in his category stood and applauded and smiled and nodded in support. After he was on stage there were shouts of support and everyone cheered again. Maybe someone will put that on youtube. There are certainly enough videos of his blunder at the Golden Globes. He was humble, gracious, and charming. How anyone can dislike him so much as some people do is really hard for me to understand. Last Friday he was given this great honor and he just looked like he really needed a big hug. He thanked his "unbelievably patient and supportive wife, Jenisa" and his children, his household help, and friends who have been supportive. Midway through reading their names he got choked up and had a hard time finishing. He also thanked the lesbian reporter who spoke out in support of him. I can't remember her name right off hand. My heart went out to him. I am sure they will have the download of it on bangsanatomy.com in a day or so if it isn't up already.
March 7th, 2007 7:44 AM
Burke Backer, I applaud your dedication and loyalty to IW, and am right there with you when it comes to him. Now that the award shows are over, I just hope the cast can take some time to try to work things out and think about the great opportunity they've been given and have worked so hard to achieve. How many times will that happen for these actors - to be a part of a #1 show. The irony of the whole thing is that the show has brought people together, and yet it's done the opposite for the cast. I really hope they will work this out, at least to the point where we can continue to enjoy the show and root for our favorites, that being for me Burke and Cristina. And, I'm still looking forward to Burke and Cristina's wedding.