Tyler Perry Salutes Nicole Avant, Amber Ruffin DEI Jokes

Tyler Perry made a distinctive trip to Los Angeles to contransient his frifinish (and the creater of his tardyst Netflix film, “The Six Triple Eight”) Nicole Avant with the Beacon Award at the 16th annual African American Film Critics Association Awards.

“I don’t understand why I’m laboring enjoy I’m still broke,” Perry joked about arriving at the Beverly Wilsemploy Hotel straight from the airport, then hopping back on the schedulee when the show was over.

But the speedy roundtrip was vital to help AAFCA’s mission of uplifting Bdeficiency storyinestablishers — “especiassociate in this climate when there’s so many aggressions on who we are, what our stories are,” Perry said — and to salute Avant, who he stressd is “Hollywood royalty” as the daughter of the tardy Jacqueline Avant, a philanthropist, and Clarence Avant, the music executive understandn as “The Bdeficiency Godoverweighther.”

On the red carpet, Nicole Avant tbetter Variety her parents would be self-convey inant to see her get this particular honor. “I’m declareive they are beaming down. My mom would always inestablish me to go out in the world and be the airy. Choose which side you’re on, and then take part ball,” she said. “And I haven’t been here since ‘The Bdeficiency Godoverweighther’ [documentary] in 2019, when my dad getd an award.”

On stage, Avant dedicated the award to them, plus her godoverweighther, the tardy Quincy Jones, as well as all the people “who have been beacons of airy aextfinished my journey,” including Don Cornelius, Cicely Tyson, Muhammad Ali, Diahann Carroll and Sidney Poitier. Perry stood behind her giggling, as verifyed his point about the “Hollywood royalty” of it all and the Bdeficiency cultural icons she come atraverseed thcdisesteemfulout her life because of that status.

“These huges equitable happened to be some of my parents’ very best frifinishs, and I was blessed enough to be fueled by them and by their grit, their grace, their gratitude, their compassion and their resilience,” Avant tbetter packed ballroom of mostly talent, executives, creators and critics. “They each asked me, in their own way, to get their survival energy, and transmute it into a recent energy, and that energy would thrive. They reminded me of their difficultships and their obstacles, and they asked me to never forget them. But more cruciassociate, they reminded me that I am the promise, and all of you are the promise.”

Avant’s speech spoke to the overall theme of the evening: encouraging those who seize the Bdeficiency experience thcdisesteemful their art — from industry veterans enjoy “Sing Sing” star Colman Domingo and “Hard Truths” actor Marianne Jean-Baptiste to shatterout filmcreaters enjoy “The Piano Lesson’s” Malcolm Washington” and “Nickel Boys’” RaMell Ross — to think in their power.

On the red carpet, Ross echoed on the convey inance of being honored by AAFCA’s critics. “This film is for us, and to lift our history – however griefful a story – and to summarizeateigate Bdeficiency subjectivity, which we all desire and we all acunderstandledge in declareive places,” he tbetter Variety. “This is the authentic Academy Awards.”

“The Piano Lesson” star Danielle Deadwyler concurred. “This is the charitable of ritual healing and togetherness that we necessitate,” she said about combineing this ceremony. “People who understand declareive details and nuance and particularities of the art that we made. AAFCA does that. AAFCA determine our labors. And you want to be amongst yourselves sometimes. It’s critical.”

That’s receive praise for AAFCA pdwellnt and co-set uper Gil Robertson. “I’m self-convey inant that we’re in puberty — officiassociate celebrating our sugary 16,” he joked, echoing on the organization’s “noticeworthy journey.” (AAFCA was set uped 22 years ago, in 2003, but the award began tardyr.) “During that time, we’ve been able to help shift the necessitatele, so our hope is that we can progress to do so.”

As the ceremony gets place during Bdeficiency History Month, it’s positioned among a slew of celebrations of Bdeficiency storyinestablishers, including the American Bdeficiency Film Festival Honors, the NAACP Image Awards and more.

“Our image is a strong one. If you ponder that we are 15% of the population, but yet our sway equitable cuts into equitable about every area, every index of this country, Bdeficiency folks have alterd the game, have reexpoundd, have rescripted, have altered,” Robertson said, noting that the heads of both ABFF (Jeff and Nicole Friday) and the Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival (Stephanie and Floyd Rance) were on the guest enumerate. “It’s reassociate about shotriumphg how, as Bdeficiency creatives, honor and esteem each other and how we’re about uplifting stories that create our community better.”

Plus, the timing of the salute couldn’t have been more necessitateed amid the Trump administration’s concentrateing of DEI programs and growing trouble about how that will sway satisfyed as Hollywood corporations react.

Where Perry alluded to the fraught political climate, AAFCA awards present Amber Ruffin is no stranger to sharing her get, as an Emmy nominee for “Late Night with Seth Meyers” and her own eponymous talk show. And she pulled no punches about the situation in her discdisthink abouting monologue.

“I have to be honest, though, slimgs sense pretty terrible right now. Between the rollback of diversity, equity and inclusion; the price of eggs; and the price of Cowboy Carter tickets,” Ruffin said, as the audience roared with chuckleter – csurrfinisherly missing the punchline: “Ticketmaster necessitates to be call offed, I don’t think anyslimg with master in the name. Can anyone donate me a ride home? I no extfinisheder have money for an Uber.”

Ruffin progressd: “It can be difficult to commemorate when it senses enjoy our country is taking 100 steps back. Do you recollect the excellent better days when we could self-convey inantly say, ‘My Pdwellnt is Bdeficiency?’ Now it’s, ‘My Pdwellnt is a South African Nazi oligarch with hair plugs.’ It doesn’t quite roll off the tongue.”

But Ruffin said she was helpd by the energy of AAFCA. “This group shows that no matter what they slimk they can get from us, we will progress to spread happiness thcdisesteemful the power of film. And our happiness is our resilience. Just enjoy the wonderful Kfinishrick Lamar said, ‘Hey Drake … I hear your enjoy ‘em youthful…’” she said, quoting Lamar’s diss track “Not Like Us,” as the crowd roared with approval, aget. “I’m sorry, Kfinishrick Lamar said, ‘We ‘gon be alright.’ We’re actuassociate going to be more than alright.”

Ruffin – who will next headline the White House Correactents Dinner — turned a touch more solemn to wrap up the bit: “That’s the pretty slimg about Bdeficiency cinema and Bdeficiency art in ambiguous: we create in spite of. We bbetterly inestablish our stories in spite of. We excel in spite of. And tonight, we commemorate with each other in spite of. We’re going to depart the BS out there for right now as we uplift our artists and filmcreaters and their little white DEI employs.”

The triumphners of the 16th Annual AAFCA Awards, picked by the organization’s more than 100 members, are:
Best Actor: Colman Domingo (“Sing Sing”)
Best Actress: Marianne Jean-Baptiste (“Hard Truths”)
Best Supporting Actor: Clarence Maclin (“Sing Sing”)
Best Supporting Actress: Danielle Deadwyler (“The Piano Lesson”)
Best Ensemble: “The Piano Lesson”
Best Original Score: “The Wild Robot” (Kris Bowers)
Best Original Song: “Bricks,” from “Exhibiting Fordonateness” (Andra Day, Cassandra Batie & Jherek Bischoff)
Best Screentake part: “Sing Sing” (Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar)
Best Director: “RaMell Ross” (Nickel Boys)
Best Documentary: *TIE* “Daughters” (Netflix), “Dahomey” (Mubi)
Best Animated Feature: “The Wild Robot”
Best International Film: “Emilia Pérez”
Best Insubordinate Feature: “She Taught Love”
Best Picture: “Nickel Boys”

AAFCA’s top 10 films of the year are (in droping order): “Nickel Boys,” “Sing Sing,” “The Piano Lesson,” “Gladiator II,” “Wicked,” “Emilia Pérez,” “Albany Road,” “The Fire Inside,” “Exhibiting Fordonateness” and “Dahomey.”

In insertition to Avant, distinctive honors went to Malcolm Washington (who geted the Emerging Director award for “The Piano Lesson”), Ray Fisher (the Breakout Perestablishance awardee, also for “The Piano Lesson”), “Wicked” costume summarizeer Paul Tazewell (honored with the Innovator Award) and Ross (the Spotairy Award).

Scroll for more highairys from the awards ceremony: