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Celebrities Keke Palmer, Shannon Sharpe, Jerrod Carmichael and more were honored at the 28th Annual Webby Awards last night (May 13). They stunned the carpet and the stage as they were celebrated for their great achievements on and offline. Check out photos from the Internet’s biggest night inside.
The 2024 Webby Awards honored the year’s biggest internet personalities, visionaries, and activists with a star-studded ceremony at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City. The award show was hosted by The Wiz and “Late Night with Seth Meyers” writer Amber Ruffin, and featured hallmark Webby 5-Word Speeches from Winners such as Keke Palmer, Shannon Sharpe, Jerrod Carmichael, Laverne Cox, Travis Kelce, and more. Presenters and attendees included NAACP President Derrick Johnson, Lil Rel Howery, and Meena Harris among others.
“Tonight we’ll be honoring the best in websites, apps, podcasts, games, and branded entertainment. Basically, we are honoring all the best ways to procrastinate,” host Amber Ruffin shared while welcoming the audience to the Webby Awards.
Ruffin made for an engaging host throughout the night with her hilarious spoof on Meatloaf’s classic song “I’d Do Anything for Love,” to her Webby in memoriam, in which she said goodbye to the concepts, products, and personalities that have become “obsolete or uncool,” such as Tesla’s Cybertruck, Truth Social, Drake, and NFTs.
Webby Awards President Claire Graves delivered inspiring remarks reflecting on the great leaps the internet has taken over the past year and the inspiring women who were at the forefront of its innovation.
“The internet is evolving, and the pace of change is accelerating,” Graves said. “We aren’t walking into the future. We’re leaping.”
Graves also recognized the “the women and men who are standing up to fight back” against the assault on women’s reproductive rights. She welcomed CEO of Phenomenal Media, Meena Harris, to the stage to present Francine Coeytaux, Co-Founder of Plan C Pills, and Tracy Droz Tragos, award-winning filmmaker of the Plan C documentary, with a Webby Award in the Public Service, Social Impact & Activism category for the film’s revolutionary social media campaign.
Their respective five-word acceptance speeches exclaimed, “Available in all 50 states!” and “It feels like a revolution.”
Some of our favorite celebrities and Internet personalities showed up and shined.
Our Internet aunty Keke Palmer accepted a Webby Special Achievement Award for her unparalleled contributions as an actress, activist, and entrepreneur and for her unique brand of digital innovation on projects like “Baby, This Is Keke Palmer,” and KeyTV.
When accepting her award, Palmer expressed gratitude for her career and platform on the internet with five words, “I’m blessed to do this.”
Shannon Sharpe also received an honorable award with the Webby Advocate of the Year Award, presented by Derrick Johnson, President of the NAACP. This recognition was selected by a committee led by the NAACP and IADAS, celebrating his significant impact in sports commentary, advocacy for racial equality, education, and health, and his wildly successful podcast, “Club Shay Shay.”
“His legacy is set,” said Johnson when presenting the award to Sharpe. “No one is requiring him to give back to the world. But Shannon does so because he requires himself to do so.”
Sharpe accepted his award with five words, “God is great, thank you.”
Another highlight included Jerrod Carmichael’s acceptance for the Webby Outstanding Comedic Performance Award. Lil Rel Howery presented the award for his brilliant, hilarious, fresh, and honest work in the Max documentary series “Jerrod Carmichael Reality Show.” Never afraid to push the limits with his comedy, Carmichael encouraged the audience to, “Risk everything every time.”
Be sure to catch all of the 2024 Webby Awards moments and winners from last night’s show on social media by simply searching #Webbys and visiting their website here.
