LGBTQ honorees uplift trans rights at 75th Emmy Awards

LGBTQ individuals and groups were well-represented at the 75th annual Emmy Awards on Jan. 15 in Los Angeles — and multiple award winners used their acceptance speeches to uplift trans rights and drag artists in front of a national audience.

“RuPaul’s Drag Race” hauled in the top prize for Outstanding Reality Competition Program yet again, while host RuPaul similarly won an eighth straight award for reality competition series host at the Creative Arts Emmys, according to the Emmys website.

“If a drag queen wants to read you a story at a library, listen to her because knowledge is power,” RuPaul said after accepting the award at the Peacock Theatre. “And if someone tries to restrict your access to power, they are trying to scare you, so listen to a drag queen.”

Niecy Nash-Betts secured an Emmy for Best Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology TV Series or Movie for her role in “Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story,” while out queer actress Ayo Edebiri landed an Emmy for supporting actress for her role in “The Bear.” 

Edebiri, 28, has already won Golden Globe, Primetime Emmy, and Critics’ Choice Award honors for that show, while Nash-Betts has won more than a dozen awards dating back to 2009, including three in the last year for her role on the Dahmer series. 

“Thank you to the most high for this divine moment,” Nash-Betts said in her acceptance speech.  “Thank you Ryan Murphy for seeing me. Evan Peters, I love you. Netflix, every single person who voted for me — thank you. And my better half who picked me up when I was gutted from this work, thank you.” 

Nash-Betts also voiced some self-praise, saying she wanted to thank herself “for believing in me and doing what they said I could not do.” She went on to say she accepted the award on behalf of Black and brown women whose voices have gone unheard or have experienced over-policing.

“Like Glenda Cleveland. Like Sandra Bland. Like Breonna Taylor. As an artist, my job is to speak truth to power, and baby, Imma do it til the day I die,” Nash-Betts said. “Mama, I won!”

Music star Elton John padded his iconic resume with an award for Outstanding Live Variety Special thanks to his performance and leadership role in in “Elton John Live: Farewell from Dodger Stadium.” John’s latest win propelled him to EGOT status, meaning he has nabbed Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Awards.

GLAAD, a national non-profit organization dedicated to improving representation of LGBTQ people in media and entertainment, received the Governor’s Award for working to secure fair, accurate and diverse representation of LGBTQ people and for advocating for queer rights.

“So many people have worked tirelessly to get LGBTQ representation here,” GLAAD CEO and president Kate Ellis said during her acceptance speech. “For us this work is personal; for me, it’s about my wife and our kids. What the world sees on TV directly influences how we treat each other and the decisions we make in our living rooms, schools, at work, and at the ballot box. The world urgently needs culture-changing stories about transgender people. Because more Americans say they have seen a ghost than know a trans person. When you don’t know people, it’s easy to demonize them.”

Ellis added: “Visibility creates understanding and opens doors, it’s life-saving. Our community has achieved so much and yet, we are still being villainized with cruel and harmful lies. Sharing stories is the antidote. Now is the time to take action – to support everyone in the LGBTQ community, because this story is still being told and we all can be the heroes.”

The Emmy Awards attracted many out celebrities who made appearances on the red carpet, including “Rustin” actor Colman Domingo, “Orange is the New Black” actress Laverne Cox, “Fire Island” actor Joel Kim Booster, actresses Ariana DeBose and Liv Hewson, and others. Domingo and Hannah Waddingham presented GLAAD’s award.