Will Smith won the Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture award at the 2023 NAACP Image Awards for his role in the movie Emancipation. This is his first major award since his controversial Oscar slap last year.

As previously reported by Sis2Sis,  Smith portrayed a man named Peter in Emancipation who wandered through Louisiana swamps to escape enslavers and slavery after hearing that slaves were free. The movie is inspired by the 1863 photos taken during the Union Army examination “Whipped Peter.”

The 54-year-old did not attend the ceremony but shared the news and several thank-you messages on Instagram.

Smith captioned the image, “WOW!! NAACP!! I am absolutely humbled by this!! I want to share this with my entire #Emancipation family – @antoinefuqua, @charmainebingwa, Ben, Bob, Jon the whole team at @westbrook and @appletvplus… I am so proud of the work we put into this film.”

He continued, “I would like to thank the NAACP for honoring our film! @derricknaacp

– you and your entire organization – and the work you do all year round – is truly important, so to be recognized by y’all – it means a lot.”

“Also – can we give my girl @queenlatifah her flowers? She is KILLIN’ it as host tonight!” he added.

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Fans of the actor have expressed their joy and support for his win, showing that despite the slap controversy and setbacks, Smith remains a beloved and respected figure in the entertainment world.

One fan wrote, “Glad NAACP recognized the movie Will Smith was in. I wish he would have accepted it in person. Head up, Will, you are not the sum of one action.”

Another said, “Big ups to NAACP: Family stands by Family. Thank you for recognizing the extraordinary talents of our brother, WILL SMITH. -Jake!”

Another fan commented, “Thank you, NAACP image awards, for recognizing his hard work and not being petty or allowing what the naysayers tweet discourage the decision. Congratulations, Will SmithOne user said, “Amazing story of faith and resilience Wil Smith was excellent in bringing it to the big screen.”

Congratulations on your well-deserved win!