After the heavy disappointment from the Golden Globes with the monologue that shall not be named, and the four-month delay due to the actors’ strike; this year’s Emmys was indeed refreshing to watch. A night to celebrate the crème de la crème of American telivision. The show was filled with moments of queer joy; from queer artists receiving the recognition they deserve, and them giving back to their communities – the Emmys pulled a Cinderella story and turned into The Slay-me’s. And that’s all thanks to the winners!
Here are my top six moments of queer joy from the awards show!
Jennifer Coolidge Thanked The Evil Gays
Jennifer Coolidge won ‘Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series’ for her role in ‘The White Lotus‘, Tanya McQoid who gave birth to the iconic “Please, these gays… They’re trying to murder me!” meme. She paid homage to said inside joke by saying,
“I want to thank all the evil gays.
Jennifer Coolidge – during her acceptance speech
[sic]”
Which was followed by an eruptive applause from the audience(something a certain person who couldn’t keep it coy couldn’t achieve…)
Elton John Became an EGOT Winner
One of the OG queer icons of the western music industry, Elton John is now officially an all-rounder of the academy awards. He received a Tony(Broadway Theatre) for the musical Aida from 1998, two Oscars(Films) for ‘Can You Feel the Love Tonight‘ from The Lion King and ‘(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again’ from Rocketman, five Grammys(Music) and finally, his first Emmy win for his live concert performance, ‘Elton John Live: Farewell From Dodger Stadium’. This makes him the nineteenth person EVER to be an EGOT winner! However, he was unable to attend the award show due to a knee operation. But, that didn’t change how momentous this moment was for all the artistic queer people out there!
RuPaul Spoke For the Drag Queens Educating Children
RuPaul’s Drag Race won big – taking home their fifth ‘Outstanding Reality Show Competition‘ award. RuPaul was surrounded by his season fifteen cast of the show and decided to speak for the drag queens who’ve been facing the brunt of the anti-trans dialogue, especially in recent times.
She began by giving hearty thanks to the show’s viewers on behalf of the current cast and also the “hundreds of the drag queens” they’ve “released into the wild”.
“And listen, if a drag queen wants to read you a story at a library, listen to her. Because knowledge is power. And if someone tries to restrict your access to power, they are trying to scare you.
RuPaul – during his acceptance speech
[sic]”
Niecy Nash-Betts Dedicated Her Speech to Unheard Black and Brown Women
During the acceptance speech of her ‘Best Supporting Actress in a Limited Series’ award for her role in ‘Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story’. She thanked her co-star Evan Peters, her wife and finally, “You know who I wanna thank? I wanna thank me. For believing in me […] I wanna say to myself in front of all you beautiful people, Go on with you BAD self![sic]”
She ended on a powerful statement by accepting the award “on behalf of every Black and Brown woman who has gone unheard yet over-policed, like Glenda Cleveland, like Sandra Bland, like Breonna Taylor.” She continued, “As an artist, my job is to speak truth to power, and baby, I’m going to do it until the day I die.
Niecy Nah-Betts – during her acceptance speech
[sic]”
Ayo Edebiri Won an Emmy for her work in ‘The Bear’
Rising queer star Ayo Edibiri from ‘The Bottoms’ has been playing chef Sydney Adamu in the comedy-drama series ‘The Bear’ since 2022 and she won an Emmy as ‘Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy’. She caught the internet’s attention(and their hearts) with her acceptance speech at the Golden Globes for the same character.
“All of my agents, managers, assistants […] those who answer my e-mails – Y’all are the real ones. Thank you for answering my crazy, crazy e-mails.[sic]”
Ayo Edebiri – during her Golden Globes acceptance speech
She dedicated her Emmys acceptance speech to her immigrant parents by saying,
“Thank you so much for loving me and letting me feel beautiful and Black and proud of all of that. I love you so much. Probably not a dream to immigrate to this country and have your daughter go ‘I wanna do improv,’ but you are real ones.[sic]”
Ayo Edebiri – during her Emmys acceptance speech
Sarah Kate Ellis (CEO of GLAAD) demands better trans representation on TV.
GLAAD is a non-profit LGBTQ+ advocacy organization that strives for inclusive representation of queer people in media. Their CEO, Sarah Kate Ellis was awarded ‘The Coveted Governers’ award and she made a plea for more trans stories to be told on telivision.
“What the world sees on TV influences how we treat each other and the decisions that we make in our living rooms, schools, at work, and at the ballot box. The world urgently needs culture changing stories about transgender people […] When you don’t know people, it’s easy to demonize them. Visibility creates understanding and it opens doors. It’s life-saving.[sic]”
Sarah Kate Ellis – during her acceptance speech
***
We can never predict how the awards shape out to be especially in award shows like this one. Suddenly it may not be the trend of the industry to cast inclusively. Next year’s line of winners may(probably will) be different. But this year, they offered voices of change. It wasn’t the award show that made these moments memorable for the community. It’s the people who took the opportunity to use the voice they were given to give it back to a greater cause. These are the people that understand the influence they hold, without a dwindling moral compass. Entertainment could be considered a waste of time, but it’s the one form of media we all collectively consume. Maybe that should mean that’s where the change begins.
