Latest news with #NAACPAwards
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
LeVar Burton To Deliver Howard University's 157th Commencement Speech
LeVar Burton is making his way to Washington, D.C. for a special affair. The actor and director has been named the keynote speaker for Howard University's 157th commencement ceremony. Set to take place on Saturday, May 10, 2025, at 10 a.m. on The Yard, the 68-year-old will serve as the Commencement orator and also receive an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree. According to a press statement from the HBCU, graduates from the university's 14 schools and colleges this year will be among the largest graduating classes in the institution's history to receive bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in various disciplines. Additionally, Emery Neal Brown, Ph.D., will receive an honorary Doctor of Science degree, the Honorable Barbara Lee will receive an honorary Doctor of Laws degree, Lilian Seenoi-Barr will receive an honorary Doctor of Laws degree, and Natasha Tretheway will receive a Doctor of Letters Degree. Burton is recognized by Howard University as is one of the world's most prolific and impactful artists, noting his decades-long career that includes roles as an actor, director, producer, author, and podcaster. His accolades include 15 Emmys Awards, a Peabody Award, a Grammy Award, and seven NAACP Awards, including a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Inaugural Children's & Family Emmys. Recently, the Reading Rainbow host returned to his book-reading roots with a reading at the Altadena, CA library. The space had been closed since the devastating wildfires that plagued the area earlier this year. According to NBC Los Angeles, the book selected for the program was The Rhino Who Swallowed a Storm. 'So many kids have been impacted by the fires, by this tragedy,' Burton said. 'An event like this was just an opportunity for them to be kids.' More from Is Frank Ocean Finally Dropping A New Album? Chrisean Rock Gets Cozy With New "Boo," Blueface's Mom Shares Her Two Cents G Herbo Reveals Health Battle, Hospitalization Following Flu Diagnosis
Buzz Feed
05-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Buzz Feed
Keke Palmer Talks NAACP Win, "One Of Them Days," And The Art Of Sleuthing
NAACP Image Awards Entertainer of the Year Keke Palmer has had our hearts since she graced our screens 23 years ago, and she's not stopping anytime soon! Finally releasing in the UK, One Of Them Days, is a classic comedy about female friendship starring Keke Palmer, SZA and a few familiar faces along the way. Sitting down with Keke we discuss the Keke Palmer brand, what keeps her motivated, and One Of Them Days. Keke Palmer, THE Entertainer of the Year, you must still be reeling from the effect of receiving that award! Keke Palmer: I am, I'm literally so happy and just so grateful. It's such a cool thing when you get to, first of all, be at the NAACP Awards with all your peers and your community and celebrate a moment like that. It's really awesome. And you deserve it! It must feel amazing to be awarded for just being authentically yourself... Keke: You know honestly, I've been doing it for so long and I'm happy that I still love it the way that I do. I still find new experiences, new characters, and new ways to love the arts. I love a film just about female friendships, and I loved how much you hyped up each other's characters throughout the film. What's the best affirmation you've received from a friend that really brought your spirits up when you were feeling down? Keke: You know, my friend always says, 'cause I'll say, 'I can't wait till I become such and such. I wanna be this kind of person.' And my best friend, she always says 'you are' and she looks you in your eyes – and she has Diana Ross eyes – so she's really like 'you are'. It always just hypes me up and makes me excited because it's like that affirmation that you already are who you think you are, you know, just keep on doing the thing, you know, if it's in your mind and it's who you think you want to be, it is who you are. You just have to kind of have to self-realise it, so that really gets me motivated. If you already have the thought in your mind, you're halfway there! During the film when everything was kind of going wrong, the community really came together to basically push your character up and remind them they're not alone and I think that's really important, especially with the Black community. What do you think we can do as a community to not lose that core spirit? Keke: Oh my gosh, you know something like what I was saying at the NAACP awards when I did my acceptance speech; we have to continue to value our community and value what we deem as good the most. That's what I think continues us to build what we wanna do, you know, our generational wealth and the stories that we want to tell, and even if it's not in the entertainment, just businesses in general, etc. Really supporting one another and us deciding what's dope, pushing that to the forefront. The real reason we have the comments like a 'seat at the table' is usually because of finances, right? We want to get the money, we want to be in the bigger rooms, we wanna get the bigger opportunities. And that's all valid, but I think the strive to get that, is also my community and what I like over here and what they see for me, that's important too. It has to all remain a part of the [overall] push. Sometimes you get lost trying to achieve so much you forget all the people behind you who have been supporting you from the beginning, and you don't need to ditch them, bring them with you. This film is hilarious, there's no doubt about it. I loved the part where your character asked their hairstylist to break into a man's phone, because we all know that one person who has a special set of skills. What are your special set of skills that all of your friends come to you for? Keke: Well, I'm definitely the friend that will stalk your man, your girlfriend, whoever it is, and find out all the information you need to find. I can literally find out by the look of the nails, you know what I'm saying, the tip of the hat, the, the hand, the veins of the hand, like. I am absolutely the best sleuth that you will ever find so they always call me for that. I'm also the person that's down for anything, and I'll make sure that we don't go to jail, you know, 'Are we pulling up to his house? What are we doing? How we gonna get there? Do you need me to call a girl and contact her on my Finsta cause I'll do it' I'm that friend. Okay, so what is your best sleuthing tip? Keke: I usually look in the likes. Especially if it's not too popular of a page, and nowadays you can go in there and actually put a name in the likes, you know what I'm saying? So I look in the likes usually to find information because somebody might not comment, but they might like a pic, so that's a good way – you know tagged photos and things like that, but a lot of people have gotten onto that, so they turn off their tagged photos and then you're like drat! The likes always, the likes reveal everything. Your character in the film is great at finding motivation when everything goes wrong, it was one of them days where everything that could go wrong did but she kept on going. You've had such a long career already, but I'm sure there have been times when you had thoughts like 'I just can't do this anymore' What has kept you motivated throughout, what has been your North Star? Keke: Honestly, like depersonalising my career from me, the person, and remembering this is, you know, my form of work; this is my artistry, and so it's not me in totality. That's been a big part of why I've been able to stay motivated – realising what really is keeping me here and what's driving me to focus is my family. Trying to continue to create something that stands the test of time and that I can give to my kids based off of what I put the work in to do, like creating the Keke Palmer brand, putting myself in these positions to be able to create something like KTV Network and support other talent and kind of just what all that means to me – that's what allows me to push forward. It's bigger than me, so I don't need to take anything personally, I just need to keep going and pushing forward so that this thing can stand the test of time.
Buzz Feed
04-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Buzz Feed
Keke Palmer Admits She Hasn't Seen Megan Thee Stallion Since Viral Met Gala Moment
One thing you cannot deny is Keke Palmer's ability to entertain. She's a comedian, host, singer and queen of memes all rolled into one — and she's been doing it for decades. Now, she's teamed up with another one of the world's favourite personalities, SZA, for blockbuster comedy One Of Them Days. Sony Pictures / Via Fresh from her NAACP Image Awards' "Entertainer of the Year" win, and ahead of the films release Down Under, Keke sat down with BuzzFeed Australia to chat about an absolutely hectic award season and the importance of "satirising" real life. Here's everything she had to say: BFOZ: How are you feeling after this award season? Keke: Good grief. It's definitely a journey. I'm glad that it's over, but boy did I have a ball. BFOZ: Let's throw it back to your recent NAACP Image Awards speech — you've been described as having big Whitney Houston energy and you're often compared to Angela Bassett. Do the comparisons ever put pressure on you to act a certain way? View this video on YouTube BFOZ: Across this entire awards season, did you meet anyone that you didn't expect to meet (or make any new best friends along the way)? Keke: I'm always surprised by who I meet whenever I'm out and about. And I don't know that I can say any specific names in particular. [I'm] working, working, working. So whenever you get an opportunity to get out and be amongst your peers, it's always exciting, because you can say, "Oh my gosh, really respect you, and it's great to meet you. And I'm such a big fan." I know when I was at SNL50, so many people that I wouldn't have even expected to see One Of Them Days were telling me they saw it and they loved the movie — from Adam Sandler to Kevin Bacon. You know what I mean? It was so many different people that I was like, "Oh my gosh, that's the coolest thing ever." These are people that I grew up being fans of, and [I'm] still fans of to this day. It was awesome meeting Dave Chappelle and being there at the NAACP Awards with him, and he was awesome. And it's cool again, when people have seen or enjoyed your work 'cause that's why you have it there. That's why you do what you do. BFOZ: In One Of Them Days, it seemed like there was so much magic behind the scenes with you and SZA, and of course, Issa Rae on the job too — what was the most chaotic moment from your time on set? Keke: I mean, the whole time was chaotic because we had to film it so quickly. So while it was enjoyable and very fun, it was like, okay, we're running out of time. Every day we were beating a clock, so that was the most chaotic aspect of it — trying to get the movie finished. BFOZ: Why do you think One Of Them Days has been so well received? Keke: You know everything's about timing. Obviously, I think that the movie — people [are] responding to — 'cause it's good. Obviously that's subjective, but it's good to me. I know I enjoyed filming it, and I enjoyed watching it, but I think also it's timing. We're in such a particular space and time right now, and I think it feels good. And that's what we need. There's a lot of stuff happening in the world and it's stressful, high stakes, and I think artists [are] either supposed to show you what you don't need to see or give you what you don't know you need. And I think One Of Them Days — we're all having sometimes, one of them days. And to see a movie where these girls are getting through it and we're kind of satirising — if that's a word — or making it satirical, these real life experiences that we're all going through. I think it kind of takes some of the power out of the weight they can put on our lives. BFOZ: More on your iconic career, you've had so many moments (or things you've said) go viral, unexpectedly. If you could've chosen any other moments in your life to go viral, which one would it be? Keke: Man, I don't know. I've never had a moment that I said, "This needs to go viral", unless I was getting into a look and I'm like, "Get into this look". You know what I mean? Or something like that. I loved the moment at the Met Gala when the guy put the music to the "Oh, oh, oh oh, I know it ain't, I know it ain't [Thee Stallion]". I thought it was cool because, yeah, I just thought it was a very random thing that the world or my audience — or whoever you would attribute that to, the community, made into a thing. And that was a fun one. ICYMI, and need a refresher, here's the video: @ Reply to @thatyeastt Absolutely! #fyp #piano #harmony #jazz #musiciansoftiktok #comedy ♬ KeyKey Palmer - Tejas C TikTok @ / Via BFOZ: Have you seen Megan [Thee Stallion] since, and used that mini song with her? Keke: Well, I feel like I literally haven't seen her since. Isn't that crazy? I feel like she and I are never in the same place, at the same time since that moment! BFOZ: We're going to have to get you guys in the same room so that you can recreate another moment that we can all adore and appreciate. Keke: Gosh, yes. BFOZ: And finally, what's coming next for you? Is there any character or project that you want to revisit or bring back to life? Keke: That's hard. I'm one of those people that's like, look, if it's been done, let it be done by somebody else. As much as I love a good revisit to an IP — I think sometimes it's like, okay, wait a minute. You know what I mean? But I have often spoken about another Sister Act, because I loved it. And I think that that's one that could be revisited in a new way, that doesn't feel like it could pick up where it left off kind of thing — and be a voice to another generation, which could be cool. So yeah, maybe that one. BFOZ: And which character would you play? Keke: A new character! I'm a new nun coming in, or I'm daughter to Whoopi, something like this! Want to see more of Keke Palmer? Get your butt in a seat — One Of Them Days is in HOYTS Cinemas from March 6.
