{"id":9066,"date":"2026-03-01T20:38:51","date_gmt":"2026-03-01T20:38:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/deon-cole-nicki-minaj-50-cent-naacp-image-awards-monologue-1236189372\/"},"modified":"2026-03-01T20:38:51","modified_gmt":"2026-03-01T20:38:51","slug":"deon-cole-nicki-minaj-50-cent-naacp-image-awards-monologue-1236189372","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/deon-cole-nicki-minaj-50-cent-naacp-image-awards-monologue-1236189372\/","title":{"rendered":"Deon Cole Prays for Nicki Minaj, 50 Cent &amp; More in Lively Monologue at 2026 NAACP Image\u00a0Awards"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><!-- do not apply CSS styles to this element! --><\/p>\n<div class=\"pmc-paywall\">\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tReturning as host, comedian\/actor and three-time Image Award winner <a href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/artist\/deon-cole\/\">Deon Cole<\/a> helmed the 57th annual NAACP Image Awards at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium on Friday (Feb. 28). The tightly paced, two-hour ceremony featured no musical performances. Cole, however, skillfully balanced both a topical and cultural tone while keeping the proceedings lively, especially during his opening monologue.<\/p>\n<div class=\"injected-related-story \/\/ lrv-u-display-inline-block lrv-u-width-100p lrv-u-margin-t-2 u-margin-t-26@mobile-max u-margin-b-0.875@mobile-max u-margin-b-150@tablet u-border-t-12 lrv-u-padding-t-025 u-padding-b-1.313 lrv-u-padding-b-125@mobile-max lrv-u-border-color-black\">\n<div class=\"\">\n<h3 id=\"title-of-a-story\" class=\"c-title  lrv-a-unstyle-link lrv-u-whitespace-nowrap u-font-weight-700 lrv-u-display-inline-block u-line-height-18px a-font-accent u-letter-spacing-0225 u-font-size-16 lrv-u-color-black lrv-u-text-transform-uppercase u-article-badge-underline a-article-esp u-display-inline-flex lrv-u-margin-b-1@mobile-max u-margin-b-9@tablet\">\n<p>\t\t\t\t\tRelated\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3><\/div>\n<div class=\"injected-related-story-wrapper lrv-u-flex lrv-u-justify-content-space-between lrv-u-padding-tb-050@desktop a-children-border-vertical a-children-border--grey a-children-border-width-050\">\n<div class=\"o-card \">\n<p>\t\t\t<a tabindex=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/music\/awards\/salt-n-pepa-dj-spinderella-naacp-image-awards-hall-of-fame-1236189323\/\" class=\"lrv-u-color-black:hover lrv-u-flex u-flex-direction-column@desktop\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"c-lazy-image  lrv-u-margin-b-075 lrv-u-margin-b-00@mobile-max u-width-130px@mobile-max\">\n<div class=\"a-crop-6x4 a-crop-3x2@mobile-max\">\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"c-lazy-image__img lrv-u-background-color-grey-lightest lrv-u-width-100p lrv-u-display-block lrv-u-height-auto\" src=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/music\/awards\/deon-cole-nicki-minaj-50-cent-naacp-image-awards-monologue-1236189372\/\" data-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2264126166.jpg?w=237&amp;h=147&amp;crop=1\" alt=\"\nZOHAN Kids Noise Cancelling Headphones\" data-lazy-srcset=\"\" data-lazy-sizes=\"auto\" height=\"\" width=\"\"><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"o-card__content \">\n<p><span class=\"c-span  lrv-u-whitespace-nowrap\"><\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"o_category \">\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"c_title \">\n<h3 id=\"title-of-a-story\" class=\"c-title  a-font-basic-fancy u-font-size-15 u-font-size-15.5@mobile-max u-line-height-22px u-padding-r-0.188@desktop u-word-spacing-0013 u-line-height-22.5px@mobile-max a-truncate-ellipsis-4line@mobile-max a-truncate-ellipsis-3line\">\n<p>\t\t\t\t\tSalt-N-Pepa &amp; DJ Spinderella Welcomed Into NAACP Image Awards Hall of Fame: \u2018What We Built Wasn\u2019t Just Music. It Was a\u00a0Movement\u2019\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3><\/div>\n<p><time class=\"c-timestamp  \" datetime=\"00:00-YY-DD-MM\"><\/p>\n<p><\/time><\/p><\/div>\n<p>\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"o-card \">\n<p>\t\t\t<a tabindex=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/music\/awards\/deon-cole-host-2025-naacp-image-awards-1235906540\/\" class=\"lrv-u-color-black:hover lrv-u-flex u-flex-direction-column@desktop\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"c-lazy-image  lrv-u-margin-b-075 lrv-u-margin-b-00@mobile-max u-width-130px@mobile-max\">\n<div class=\"a-crop-6x4 a-crop-3x2@mobile-max\">\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"c-lazy-image__img lrv-u-background-color-grey-lightest lrv-u-width-100p lrv-u-display-block lrv-u-height-auto\" src=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/music\/awards\/deon-cole-nicki-minaj-50-cent-naacp-image-awards-monologue-1236189372\/\" data-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/deon-cole-naacp-awards-2024-billboard-1548.jpg?w=237&amp;h=147&amp;crop=1\" alt=\"\nZOHAN Kids Noise Cancelling Headphones\" data-lazy-srcset=\"\" data-lazy-sizes=\"auto\" height=\"\" width=\"\"><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"o-card__content \">\n<p><span class=\"c-span  lrv-u-whitespace-nowrap\"><\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"o_category \">\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"c_title \">\n<h3 id=\"title-of-a-story\" class=\"c-title  a-font-basic-fancy u-font-size-15 u-font-size-15.5@mobile-max u-line-height-22px u-padding-r-0.188@desktop u-word-spacing-0013 u-line-height-22.5px@mobile-max a-truncate-ellipsis-4line@mobile-max a-truncate-ellipsis-3line\">\n<p>\t\t\t\t\tDeon Cole Set to Host 2025 NAACP Image Awards, Ledisi to\u00a0Perform\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3><\/div>\n<p><time class=\"c-timestamp  \" datetime=\"00:00-YY-DD-MM\"><\/p>\n<p><\/time><\/p><\/div>\n<p>\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"o-card \">\n<p>\t\t\t<a tabindex=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/culture\/events\/because-theyre-funny-comedy-festival-washington-1235931178\/\" class=\"lrv-u-color-black:hover lrv-u-flex u-flex-direction-column@desktop\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"c-lazy-image  lrv-u-margin-b-075 lrv-u-margin-b-00@mobile-max u-width-130px@mobile-max\">\n<div class=\"a-crop-6x4 a-crop-3x2@mobile-max\">\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"c-lazy-image__img lrv-u-background-color-grey-lightest lrv-u-width-100p lrv-u-display-block lrv-u-height-auto\" src=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/music\/awards\/deon-cole-nicki-minaj-50-cent-naacp-image-awards-monologue-1236189372\/\" data-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/because-theyre-funny-2025-billboard-1-1548.jpg?w=237&amp;h=147&amp;crop=1\" alt=\"\nZOHAN Kids Noise Cancelling Headphones\" data-lazy-srcset=\"\" data-lazy-sizes=\"auto\" height=\"\" width=\"\"><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"o-card__content \">\n<p><span class=\"c-span  lrv-u-whitespace-nowrap\"><\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"o_category \">\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"c_title \">\n<h3 id=\"title-of-a-story\" class=\"c-title  a-font-basic-fancy u-font-size-15 u-font-size-15.5@mobile-max u-line-height-22px u-padding-r-0.188@desktop u-word-spacing-0013 u-line-height-22.5px@mobile-max a-truncate-ellipsis-4line@mobile-max a-truncate-ellipsis-3line\">\n<p>\t\t\t\t\tBecause They\u2019re Funny Festival Returns to Washington in\u00a0October\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3><\/div>\n<p><time class=\"c-timestamp  \" datetime=\"00:00-YY-DD-MM\"><\/p>\n<p><\/time><\/p><\/div>\n<p>\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\t\u201cWelcome to the NAACP Trump Image Awards,\u201d Cole deadpanned to the audience\u2019s high-spirited laughter. \u201cWe had to do that. Yes, he wants his name on everything. I apologize. If we didn\u2019t do that, we\u2019d go to commercial and come back in an episode of <em>Matlock<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tAfter addressing the Epstein files, Cole then implored show officials to \u201ccharge me for this curse word\u201d used to spotlight another topical subject during which he was bleeped out. But it wasn\u2019t hard to read his lips: \u201cF\u2014k ICE.\u201d Greeted again by hearty applause, and shoutouts as well as a standing ovation, Cole added, \u201cI don\u2019t want to see no ICE ever again. When I looked at the guest list, I took off Ice Cube, Ice-T, Ice Spice. I don\u2019t want no ice cream. I don\u2019t want no ice in my drink\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"injected-related-story \/\/ lrv-u-display-inline-block lrv-u-width-100p lrv-u-margin-t-2 u-margin-t-26@mobile-max u-margin-b-0.875@mobile-max u-margin-b-150@tablet u-border-t-12 lrv-u-padding-t-025 u-padding-b-1.313 lrv-u-padding-b-125@mobile-max lrv-u-border-color-black injected-single-story lrv-u-border-b-1\">\n<div class=\"\">\n<h3 id=\"title-of-a-story\" class=\"c-title  lrv-a-unstyle-link lrv-u-whitespace-nowrap u-font-weight-700 lrv-u-display-inline-block u-line-height-18px a-font-accent u-letter-spacing-0225 u-font-size-16 lrv-u-color-black lrv-u-text-transform-uppercase u-article-badge-underline a-article-esp u-display-inline-flex lrv-u-margin-b-1@mobile-max u-margin-b-075\">\n<p>\t\t\t\t\tRelated\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3><\/div>\n<div class=\"injected-related-story-wrapper lrv-u-flex lrv-u-justify-content-space-between lrv-u-padding-tb-050@desktop a-children-border-vertical a-children-border--grey a-children-border-width-050\">\n<div class=\"o-card \">\n<p>\t\t\t<a tabindex=\"0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/lists\/2026-naacp-image-awards-winners-list\/\" class=\"lrv-u-color-black:hover lrv-u-flex u-flex-direction-column@desktop\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"c-lazy-image  lrv-u-margin-b-075 lrv-u-margin-b-00@mobile-max u-width-130px@mobile-max\">\n<div class=\"a-crop-6x4 a-crop-3x2@mobile-max\">\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"c-lazy-image__img lrv-u-background-color-grey-lightest lrv-u-width-100p lrv-u-display-block lrv-u-height-auto\" src=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/music\/awards\/deon-cole-nicki-minaj-50-cent-naacp-image-awards-monologue-1236189372\/\" data-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/ryan-coogler-2025-european-sinners-premiere-billboard-1800.jpg?w=237&amp;h=147&amp;crop=1\" alt=\"\nZOHAN Kids Noise Cancelling Headphones\" data-lazy-srcset=\"\" data-lazy-sizes=\"auto\" height=\"\" width=\"\"><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"o-card__content \">\n<p><span class=\"c-span  lrv-u-whitespace-nowrap\"><\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"o_category \">\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"c_title \">\n<h3 id=\"title-of-a-story\" class=\"c-title  a-font-basic-fancy u-font-size-15 u-font-size-15.5@mobile-max u-line-height-22px u-padding-r-0.188@desktop u-word-spacing-0013 u-line-height-22.5px@mobile-max a-truncate-ellipsis-4line@mobile-max a-truncate-ellipsis-3line\">\n<p>\t\t\t\t\tHere Are All the Winners at the 2026 NAACP Image Awards: Full Winners\u00a0List\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3><\/div>\n<p><time class=\"c-timestamp  \" datetime=\"00:00-YY-DD-MM\"><\/p>\n<p><\/time><\/p><\/div>\n<p>\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tTaking the audience to church next, Cole led a prayer on behalf of several entertainers. Among those he blessed were <a href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/artist\/teyana-taylor\/\">Teyana Taylor<\/a> (\u201cKeep her single and away from 6\u20193\u201d green-eyed men with muscles\u201d), <a href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/artist\/50-cent\/\">50 Cent<\/a> (\u201cBut that pettiness begins our day going fast at work, don\u2019t it?\u201d) and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/artist\/nicki-minaj\/\">Nicki Minaj<\/a> (\u201cShe\u2019s been going through a lot lately. She hasn\u2019t been herself. Lord, I believe whatever\u2019s in her ass is affecting her brain\u201d).<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tLastly, Cole addressed the recent British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Awards controversy that erupted when the N-word was shouted out by John Davidson, who suffers from Tourette syndrome, while <em>Sinners <\/em>stars Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo were presenting an award at that ceremony (Feb. 22). BAFTA, the BBC and Davidson (also a Tourette activist whose life inspired the 2025 film <em>I Swear<\/em>) subsequently apologized.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\t\u201cBefore we go, Lord,\u201d concluded Cole, \u201cif there are any white men out here in the audience with Tourette\u2019s, I advise you to tell them that they better read the room tonight. Lord, it might not go the way they think. Whatever medicine they\u2019re on, they better double up on it. Lord, all these things we ask in Jesus\u2019 name \u2026 \u00a0let the church say amen.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tMoving ahead to the evening\u2019s first award presentation, Cole brought everything full circle. \u201cLet\u2019s have a good time here celebrating everybody\u2019s accomplishments \u2026 and we\u2019re going to celebrate being together. Make some noise, y\u2019all. Ain\u2019t nobody better than the next person.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tAmong other Image Awards highlights was Samuel L. Jackson\u2019s stirring tribute to late civil rights icon Rev. Jesse Jackson. Members of the Jackson family were also in attendance.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/ubpass.co\/billboard\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\"><br \/>\n  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i.imgur.com\/2HpFicp.png\" alt=\"Billboard VIP Pass\" style=\"max-width: 100%;height: auto\"><br \/>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;\" class=\"sharethis-inline-share-buttons\" ><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Returning as host, comedian\/actor and three-time Image Award winner Deon Cole helmed the 57th annual NAACP Image Awards at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium on Friday (Feb. 28). The tightly paced,&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[106,99,108,96,94,5487],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9066","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-awards","category-genre-hiphop","category-genre-rb","category-music","category-music-news","category-naacp-image-awards"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9066","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9066"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9066\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9066"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9066"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musictechohio.online\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9066"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}