The NAACP’s 55th annual Image Awards marked the end to the months-long awards season and it went out with a bang, with stars like Oprah Winfrey and Usher, Oscar nominees including Sterling K. Brown and Jeffrey Wright, and Hall of Fame inductees like New Edition showing up for the glittering event at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles Saturday.
Also among the boldface names in attendance was Jonathan Majors, accompanying girlfriend and nominee Meagan Good in the pair’s first major red carpet event together, and Majors’ most high-profile appearance since he was found guilty of assault and harassment in December.
Majors and Good took photos with fans during the commercial breaks, while other stars used the time to grab hugs with friends and admirers. Among them: Octavia Butler, who embraced honoree Amanda Gorman. With The Hollywood Reporter on the carpet and inside the room, here are the top things the TV cameras didn’t show at the ceremony, hosted by Queen Latifah.
Majors and girlfriend Megan Good give select interviews on red carpet
Good, who was nominated for her second NAACP award for her role in Harlem, told Entertainment Tonight that she is “happier than [she’s] been in a long time.” After giving the actress space to talk about the Amazon Prime project and what the role has meant to her, ET’s Kevin Frazier pulled in Majors, asking first how he was doing. “Good to be seen, man,” the actor replied, before noting that it was “incredible” to be Good’s plus-one at the awards show. “I love everything she does, and I’m glad she’s being acknowledged today, by us.” Before the pair made their way inside, Frazier asked him what it felt like to have Good, who he noted clearly loved Majors, as he navigated the last few months: “You want me to cry?” he asked, and then responded: “Nah, man, Love is beautiful. Support, accountability, all those things – someone to talk to and chat with and get better with, and for, so, God is good.”
Courtney B. Vance and Deon Cole share a bromance moment
During the Average Joe star’s interview with THR on the carpet, Courtney B. Vance reached out and pushed Cole on the shoulder, which prompted the two to then play-fight and hug. As the two laughed, Cole informed THR that “no interview will get done with Deon and Courtney.”
Lisa Ann Walter fans out over Bradley Cooper
On the episode of Abbott Elementary that followed the Oscars, Lisa Ann Walter, who plays teacher Melissa in the ABC comedy, had a special guest come into her classroom. That guest? Maestro star Bradley Cooper, who Walter told THR she was “giddy” to be around. “I giggled pretty much nonstop the entire time we worked together,” she acknowledged, before adding: “He’s a hot monkey guy on a stick.”