The 2025 NAACP Image Awards delivered a thrilling night when Keke Palmer took home the coveted Entertainer of the Year honor, capping off an already monumental evening for the multi-talented star. Held at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium on February 22, the ceremony celebrated Black excellence across entertainment, but it was Palmer’s surprise win, beating heavyweights like Cynthia Erivo, Kendrick Lamar, Kevin Hart, and Shannon Sharpe, that left the crowd buzzing.
While the 31-year-old actress, singer, and TV personality is no stranger to the spotlight, her win in the top category still caught many by surprise, including Keke herself. In her acceptance speech, she revealed she fully expected the red-hot Erivo to walk away with the honor.
“It’s so important that we come here together and celebrate one another,” Keke Palmer said, accepting the award in Los Angeles. “Nobody has uplifted me more than you, all the people in this room.”
She humorously mentioned that she didn’t expect to win because of Cynthia Erivo gestured toward her and sang “Defying Gravity”!
Keke also remembered the counsel from Aunjanue Ellis: “It’s important to ensure that you aren’t sitting at someone else’s table; instead, create your own table with your people.”
The Image Awards, organized by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, are considered the top entertainment honors focused on Black actors, highlighting their achievements in movies, television, music, and literature in the past year, and aired on BET and CBS.
Other winners include BBeyoncé’s Cowboy Carter, which received a Grammy for Album of the Year on February 2 and was voted Outstanding Album. Blue Ivy Carter, Beyoncé’s 13-year-old daughter, won for outstanding character voice performance motion picture for Mufasa: The Lion King. Tyler Perry’s Netflix WWII film The Six Triple Eight earned the award for Best Feature, while Kerry Washington captured the title of Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture for her role in the same film.
In television, Queen Latifah secured the Best Actress in a Drama Series award for her performance in The Equalizer.
Congratulations to Keke Palmer, the new reigning Entertainer of the Yer, proof that even when you think you know who’s going to take the prize, it pays to expect the unexpected.
