Jimmy Fallon, LeBron James, Kristen Bell and John Krasinski Among 2020 Webby Award Winners
By Angelique Jackson
LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – The Webby Awards may have had to cancel the in-person ceremony amid the coronavirus pandemic, but the 24th annual awards show goes on virtually with the “WFH: Webbys From Home.”
Hosted by Patton Oswalt , the live-streamed celebration on Tuesday, May 19, upholds the traditions of the Webbys (the hallmark 5-Word Speech will live on), while acknowledging challenges created by the pandemic. This year’s event is specifically dedicated to individuals and organizations using the internet in response to COVID-19.
Jimmy Fallon, Tom Hanks, Cardi B, LeBron James, Greta Thunberg, Lil Nas X, Dolly Parton, Celine Dion, UNICEF, HBO’s “Game of Thrones,” Malala Yousafzai, Ronan Farrow and Trevor Noah are among the 2020 Webby Award winners announced Tuesday by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences.
The Webbys also announced their Special Achievement honorees, celebrated specifically for using their internet platform to uplift the community during the pandemic. Avi Schiffmann, a 17-year-old who helped launch the first tracking database of COVID-19, was named Webby Person of the Year. Also dubbed Special Honorees are Kristen Bell, “Some Good News” hosted by John Krasinski, Miley Cyrus (for “Bright Minded: Live with Miley”), DJ D-Nice (Webby Artist of the Year), Swizz Beatz and Timbaland (Webby Crush the Internet Award winners for their Instagram Live Verzuz battles), Chef Massimo Bottura, Google Classroom, Invisible Hands, Shopping Angels, the Black Fairy Godmother Simone Gordon, Swab Squad, Trevor Bedford and Dr. Tatiana Prowell, as well as Webby Voice of the Year honoree “The Daily” and Webby Breakout of the Year winner Houseparty.
National Geographic was named Media Company of the Year, winning a total of 15 Webby Awards. Google, The Washington Post, Vox Media, Conde Nast, Spotify, NASA, ESPN and HBO also earned multiple Webbys.
The virtual “Webbys From Home” broadcast begins streaming at 3 p.m. ET with presenters including Dr. Anthony Fauci, FKA Twigs, Rhett & Link, Questlove, Hannibal Buress, Arianna Huffington and Imgoen Heap. Moses Sumney will perform during the virtual event, while DJ D-Nice hosts the official after-party on Instagram Live beginning at 8 p.m. ET.
To view the full list of 2020 Webby Awards winners, head to webbyawards.com/winners .
