NAACP host says one thing is 'affecting' Nicki Minaj's brain amid MAGA devotion

The 57th NAACP Image Awards took place on Saturday, February 28, broadcast live from Pasadena, California, with actor and comedian Deon Cole serving as emcee for the night

The NAACP Image Awards took place on February 28 and aired live on BET from the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Pasadena, California.

The show was hosted by Deon Cole for the second year in a row. During the 54-year-old's opening monologue, the comedian offered a prayer for Nicki Minaj, who has recently aligned herself with Donald Trump and MAGA. The rapper recently joined the president at a crypto event in Mar-a-Lago after she declared herself his 'number one fan.'

During the bit, Deon began, "Lord, we want you to bless our sister Nicki Minaj, Lord, yes. She’s been going through a lot lately."

Deon took the joke a step further, adding, "She hasn't been herself, Lord. I believe whatever is in her a-- is affecting her brain, Lord."

He joked, "Take it out her a--, Lord. We bind that spirit in her a--, Lord," as a photo of the 43-year-old rapper, who was not in attendance, was projected on the screen above the stage. The camera panned across the audience as some celebs erupted in laughter, while others shook their heads in disbelief.

Before taking a jab at the Super Bass rapper, Deon began, "People need prayer in order to get through these times, right?" setting up for the punchline. "So I think here at the NAACP Awards, we need to pray for people that need prayer," he continued, before offering prayers for Teyana Taylor and 50 Cent the-mirror-icon_entertainment_tv_naacp-awards.

At this year's show, various celebrities were honored throughout the night with prestigious awards. Colman Domingo received the President's Award. In an Instagram announcement, the award show wrote that he earned the award for "his impact, excellence, and commitment to keep raising the bar."

Viola Davis was honored with the Chairman's Award, Rihanna's partner A$AP Rocky was honored with the Vanguard Award, and iconic hip-hop group Salt-N-Pepa was inducted into the NAACP Image Awards Hall of Fame.

Before the big event took place, winners were announced earlier in the week for some of the awards. Former first lady Michelle Obama won for Outstanding Literary Work—Biography/Autobiography for her book 'The Look' and also won Outstanding Podcast – Lifestyle/Self-Help and Arts, Sports & Entertainment with her brother Craig Robinson for their podcast 'IMO with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson.'

Kendrick Lamar took home the award for Outstanding Short Form Series or Special Reality/Nonfiction/Documentary for his 2024 Super Bowl halftime show. The Academy Award-nominated film Sinners received its flowers for Outstanding Original Score for Television/Film.

Sinners received some of the most nominations at this year's show with nominations for Outstanding Motion Picture; Outstanding Directing in a Motion Picture (Ryan Coogler); Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture (Michael B Jordan); Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture (Delroy Lindo); Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture (Jayme Lawson and Wunmi Mosaku); Outstanding Breakthrough Performance in a Motion Picture (Miles Caton); Outstanding Ensemble Cast in a Motion Picture; Outstanding Writing in a Motion Picture (Ryan Coogler); and Outstanding Cinematography in a Feature Film (Autumn Durald Arkapaw).