ESSENTIAL INDUSTRY AND AWARD NEWS  APRIL 01, 2019 Chris Rock Goes After Jussie Smollett The N.A.A.C.P. Image Awards are usually a night of celebration, built to honor outstanding contributions to the field of entertainment by black actors, musicians, writers, and other artists. But this year’s ceremony was shaded by a Jussie Smollett–shaped cloud, writes contributor Paul Chi—and that was never more apparent than when presenter Chris Rock took the stage, first announcing that he had been asked not to make any jokes about the embattled Empire star before, of course, proceeding to do just that. “What a waste of light skin,” the combative comedian said, prompting both laughter and tension in the Dolby Theatre. “What the hell was he thinking?” Rock continued. “From now on, you’re ‘Jessie’ from now on. You don’t even get the ‘U’ no more. That ‘U’ was respect. You don’t get no respect from me.” Directly after Rock made his cracks, Black-ish star Yara Shahidi appeared to accept the prize for outstanding comedy series—and made a point of saying, “I stand with Jussie.” The Empirestar also has the backing of his friend Danielle Brooks,who told Chi on the red carpet that she thinks Smollett deserves support, not derision: “He needs to be loved right now. There’s a lot of hateful things being said about him, and we need to love him.” Elsewhere in HWD, Joanna Robinson gets the lowdown on the final season of Veep from show-runner David Mandel; Kumail Nanjiani chats with Laura Bradleyabout starring in the premiere of Jordan Peele’s Twilight Zone reboot; Downton Abbey star Elizabeth McGovernopens up to Julie Miller about reuniting with Julian Fellowes for a new period film; and The Walking DeadSeason 9 closes with an intriguing possibility.

Like a Rock “You know what I could do with that light skin? That curly hair?” Chris Rock said, slamming Jussie Smollett at the N.A.A.C.P. Image Awards. “My career would be out of here. Fucking running Hollywood!” READ MORE » Hail to the Chief “In our world, maybe, there is no Donald Trump—or I like to think he’s managing a Foot Locker in Queens,” says Veepshow-runner David Mandel. READ MORE » Uncharted Territory “The main character I play goes to such dark places; I’ve never played anything like that,” says Kumail Nanjiani, star of the first episode of the new Twilight Zone. READ MORE » Finding Her Voice Oscar-nominated actress Elizabeth McGovern, who plays Cora Crawley on Downton Abbey, stepped up as a producer and star of The Chaperone. READ MORE A New Dead Beginning? The world of The Walking Dead could get a whole lot bigger come Season 10—and Maggie could maybe, possibly have an opportunity to return.