Spike Lee and Janet Jackson Earn Historic Entertainment Awards
Two veterans of the entertainment industry, responsible for some of the most iconic art of the past four decades, received historic honors for their work over the weekend.
Filmmaker Spike Lee earned the Grand Prix award for "BlacKkKlansman" at the Cannes Film Festival on Saturday (May 19). This second-place honor is Lee's first-ever award from the French festival, after he missed out on the top award—the Palme d'Or—both this year and in 1989 for "Do the Right Thing." Cannes juror Ava DuVernay shouted out the director and his award in a tweet yesterday (May 20):
Let me tell you a small Sunday story. We happened to be on the same flight back to NYC. And I happened to ask to see his history-making Cannes Grand Prix Prize. And he happened to say yes. And then me and about 27 other passengers stood there and swooned and smiled. The End. xo pic.twitter.com/W1xOGUFu7C
— Ava DuVernay (@ava) May 20, 2018
Music mainstay Janet Jackson made her own history at the Billboard Music Awards last night. Essence magazine reports that Jackson is the first Black woman to receive the Icon Award, which honors a legacy of artistic excellence in the pop music world. Here are clips of her performance and acceptance speech:
First black female artist to receive the Billboard Icon Award... #JanetJackson. #BBMAs pic.twitter.com/5syLAjXfTM
— Mike Adam (@MikeAdamOnAir) May 21, 2018
After rocking the stage with her incredible performance, @JanetJackson accepts the 2018 #BBMAs Icon Award! #ICON_JANET pic.twitter.com/S7nDbrGJQI
— Billboard Music Awards (@BBMAs) May 21, 2018