Niecy Nash-Betts had an emotional “thanks to myself” moment at the 75th Emmy Awards on Monday (January 15), as she took home a prestigious award before dedicating it to marginalized victims.
The 53-year-old talent won the Emmy for Best Supporting Actress in a Limited Series, sparking awe and amazement amongst the show audience, who were left stunned by her acceptance speech.
Niecy had been nominated for her role as Glenda Cleveland, the concerned and whistleblowing neighbor in the Netflix series Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.
Niecy Nash-Betts had an emotional “thanks to myself” moment after winning the Emmy for Best Supporting Actress
Image credits: Christopher Polk/Getty Images
“I’m a winner, baby! Thank you to the most high for this divine moment,” Niecy said from the reputable stage.
She continued: “Thank you, Ryan Murphy, for seeing me. Evan Peters, I love you. Netflix. Every single person who voted for me. Thank you. My better half, who picked me up when I was gutted from this work. Thank you.”
Image credits: Jay L. Clendenin/Getty Images
The California native swooped Emmy goers away when she added: “I want to thank me, for believing in me and doing what they said I could not do.
“I want to say to myself in front of all you beautiful people, ‘Go, girl, with your bad self. You did that’
“Finally, I accept this award on behalf of every Black and Brown woman who have gone unheard, yet overpoliced, like Glenda Cleveland, like Sandra Bland, like Breonna Taylor!”
Niecy was nominated for her role as Glenda Cleveland in the Netflix series Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.
Image credits: Television Academy
Bland and Taylor were two African American women who ignited outrage after their deaths regarding the racist treatment they received following their suicide and wrongful murder by a police officer, respectively.
Cleveland, also an African American woman, was the real neighbor of serial Killer Jeffrey Dahmer. She had repetitively sounded the alarm on his victims, who were predominantly black men but was consistently ignored by the police.
Image credits: Television Academy
“I’m a winner, baby! Thank you to the most high for this divine moment,” Niecy said
Image credits: Television Academy
Niecy’s speech earned her a standing ovation, as the comedian went on to declare that she spoke truth to power and said she is “going to do it until the day I die,” as per Variety.
Upon being questioned in the press room backstage about thanking herself, Niecy said, “I’m the only one who knows how much it cost me,” Variety reported.
She continued: “I’m the only one who knows how many nights I cried because I couldn’t be seen for a certain type of role.”
Image credits: Television Academy
“I want to thank me, for believing in me and doing what they said I could not do,” Niecy added
Image credits: Television Academy
You can watch Niecy’s acceptance speech below:
Niecy’s fantastic acceptance speech is reminiscent of Snoop Dogg’s iconic 2018 speech when he received his Walk of Fame star on Hollywood Boulevard.
At the time, the rapper notably said: “I want to thank me for believing in me, I want to thank me for doing all this hard work.
“I wanna thank me for having no days off. I wanna thank me for never quitting.
“I wanna thank me for always being a giver and trying to give more than I receive.
“I wanna thank me for trying to do more right than wrong. I wanna thank me for being me at all times, Snoop Dogg you a bad motherf**ker.”
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