Queen Latifah surprised during the NAACP Image Awards

Queen Latifah hosted the tremendous annual NAACP Image Awards but one thing she didn’t expect during the event is getting a birthday surprise.

The 53-year-old hosted the show just two days before her 54th birthday. As the night progressed, she was joined on-stage by her former Living Single co-star Erica Alexander who began to express her admiration for her friend.

Moving towards her pre-birthday celebration, Erica noted, “Tonight is a beautiful celebration of our community. And in that same spirit, we would be remiss if we didn’t celebrate you tonight, friend, for the light that you shine, the trails that you blazed, the empowerment you instil. Happy Birthday, Queen!”, with a cake being rolled out on stage on cue.

The celebration was doubled down by the Abbott Elementary star Sheryl Lee Ralp s she offered her rendition of Stevie Wonder’s Birthday song.

Sheryl sang the song as she danced across the crowd with various entertainers including Glynn Turman and Keke Palmer joining in to express their love for Latifah.

Elated with the heartwarming surprise, Latifah grooved along to the birthday song and remarked, “Oh and you want me to talk after that, after you blindside me? Okay, thank you so much everybody. I really appreciate that.”

It is worth mentioning that Queen Latifah presided over this event that celebrates the contributions and achievement of people of colour in different categories across the industry including movies, TV, plays and music. 

The prestigious ceremony marked it’s 55th event this year which successfully gathered Hollywood icons to bestow deserving talents with awards in 40 different categories.