Mary J. Blige To Perform At NAACP Image Awards; Kristen Stewart Named Honorary Chair At Indie Spirits;Kate Winslet To Intro Helen Mirren SAG Honor – Awards Briefs

Mary J. Blige, fresh off her performance at the Super Bowl halftime show, will hit the stage to perform at the 53rd annual NAACP Image Awards, which airs live Saturday, February 26 on BET.

Anthony Anderson is hosting the ceremony, which will honor the year’s best across the fields of film, TV, music and publishing. Winners will be announced in four virtual ceremonies running daily Monday-Friday on naacpimageawards.net and the NAACP Image Awards YouTube channel, leading into the marquee televised show.

Presenters on the BET telecast will include Issa Rae, Kerry Washington, LL Cool J, Michael Strahan, Morgan Freeman, Paula Patton, Questlove, Simu Liu, Tiffany Haddish, Zendaya, NAACP president Derrick Johnson and NAACP board chairman Leon W. Russell, organizers said Thursday.

Also on the main broadcast, Samuel L. Jackson will receive the NAACP Chairman’s Award and Nikole Hannah-Jones, the Pulitzer Prize-winning creator of the 1619 Project, will be presented with the Social Justice Impact Award.

Blige, a seven-time Image Awards winner, is nominated again this year in the Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series category for her role on Starz’s Power Book II: Ghost.

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Oscar-nominated Spencer star Kristen Stewart has been named honorary chair of the Film Independent Spirit Awards, which are set as an in-person ceremony March 6 in Santa Monica airing live on IFC and streaming on AMC+. Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally are emceeing.

Past honorary chairs include Shaka King last year, Lena Waithe, Ava DuVernay, Jessica Chastain, Ang Lee, David Oyelowo, Jodie Foster, Javier Bardem, Kerry Washington, Tom Cruise, Samuel L. Jackson, Nicole Kidman and Julianne Moore among others.

Neon’s Spencer starring Stewart as Princess Di is not in the mix for Spirit Awards this year; film budgets must be $22.5 million or below to be eligible. A24’s Zola leads all films this year with seven nominations including Best Picture, while IFC Films’ The Novice has five.

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Kate Winslet will present the this year’s SAG Life Achievement Award to Helen Mirren during the 28th annual SAG Awards on Sunday, February 27 in a ceremony airing live on TNT and TBS.

Mirren will become the most decorated SAG Life Achievement recipient with 13 SAG Awards nominations and five wins during her career.

Winslet will be at the ceremony already as she’s been nominated for her starring role in HBO’s Mare of Easttown, which earned her an Emmy Award for Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series.