Will Smith is banned from the Oscars ceremony for the next decade, but no such directive exists for the NAACP Awards, where he's an acting nominee for the film Emancipation.
The NAACP announced its nominees for the 54th annual NAACP Awards live on CBS This Morning with rapper/actor Method Man and NAACP president and CEO Derrick Johnson.
"No individual should be measured on the worst day of their life. Everyone needs redemption. And the actual depiction of that story is great," Johnson said of Smith's nomination.
Smith faces steep competition in the Best Actor category with Sterling K. Brown (Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul) Daniel Kaluuya (Nope) Jonathan Majors (Devotion) and Joshua Boone (A Jazzman's Blues).
Angela Bassett received multiple nominations, including for Entertainer of the Year for her roles in both Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and the Fox network procedural 9-1-1. Quinta Brunson and her critically acclaimed show Abbott Elementary also earned multiple nominations, including her own nod for Entertainer of the Year.
Other top nominees include breakout actress Danielle Deadwyler for TILL and the Netflix series From Scratch as well as nods for Mary J. Blige, Beyonce, and most of the cast of The Best Man: The Final Chapter.
The awards will be held in person for the first time since 2020 and will air on BET on Saturday, Feb. 25 at 8 p.m. EST. For a full list of nominees, head to the NAACP Image Awards website. Below are nominations in the top categories.
Entertainer of the Year
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Mary J. Blige
Quinta Brunson
Outstanding Motion Picture
A Jazzman's Blues
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Emancipation
The Woman King
TILL
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Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture
Daniel Kaluuya, Nope
Jonathan Majors, Devotion
Joshua Boone, A Jazzman's Blues
Sterling K. Brown, Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul
Will Smith, Emancipation
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Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture
Danielle Deadwyler, TILL
Keke Palmer, Alice
Letitia Wright, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Regina Hall, Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul
Viola Davis, The Woman King
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Outstanding Comedy Series
Abbott Elementary
Atlanta
black-ish
Rap Sh!t
The Wonder Years
Outstanding Drama Series
Bel-Air
Bridgerton
Euphoria
P-Valley
Queen Sugar
Outstanding Television Movie, Limited-Series or Dramatic Special
Carl Weber's The Black Hamptons
From Scratch
The Best Man: The Final Chapters
The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey
Women of the Movement
Outstanding Album
age/sex/location, Ari Lennox
Breezy (Deluxe), Chris Brown
Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers, Kendrick Lamar
Renaissance, Beyonce
Watch the Sun, PJ Morton