Zendaya’s Historic Win And The 2020 Emmy Awards
A win is always a great thing to celebrate. First, it is unbelievable and thus feels like a dream. And when it is a win that makes history, the joy is just indescribable. Words fail. Tears run and the whole world stands still.
While the coronavirus pandemic rages on and has continued to keep many popular events either indefinitely postponed or virtual, last night, the world still joined in the jubilation and for the umpteenth time, the Afro nation was made proud by Zendaya’s win at the Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. The win is credited to her performance in the HBO television series titled Euphoria (a series based on an Israeli miniseries of the same title) where she plays the role of Rue Bennett.
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Zendaya’s Historic Win
At the tender age of twenty-four, Zendaya makes history as the youngest person to ever win the Emmy Award title and the second black woman to ever hold the place for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series after Viola Davis who held it in 2015 for her performance in the television series How To Get Away With Murder.
In Zendaya’s acceptance speech, she reacts by saying, “I am really really nervous. I just want to say thank you to the TV Academy and all the other women. This is crazy. Thank you HBO and A24 for your support. Thank you to my family and my team. To the incredible cast and crew of Euphoria. I’m so lucky and I’m inspired by everything you do. I feel like this is a weird time to be celebrating, but there is hope in the young people out there. I know our TV show doesn’t always feel like a great example of that, but there is hope in the young people. And to my peers out there doing the work in the streets, I see you, I admire you and I thank you. And thank you so so much. This is…wow!”
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In an interview with Erin Lim of E!News, she says “No…” when she is asked if she had any inkling that she would be going home with the trophy. She continues by saying, “…I mean, you can take a look at the incredible women that I get to share this category with, I mean, to be mentioned among their names and obviously have their support… you’re seeing them clap for me, it was like oh! I love you guys. So, it was a very special moment and I feel incredibly honored and lucky to just be here…”
It should be noted that Zendaya was nominated in the same category with the likes of Jennifer Aniston, Olivia Colman, Jodie Comer, Laura Linney, and Sandra Oh. A very huge congratulations to our darling, Rue, as she was indeed in some stiff competition there. On being the youngest Emmy winner ever, Zendaya says that “…it was obviously a very emotional moment and I still can’t believe myself.”
The 2020 Emmy Awards
This year’s Emmy Awards saw many black performers sweep home most of the awards. It was another history-making experience as most of the awards (a total of seven actually) went to black performers beating the 2018 record of six. Tyler Perry and Eddie Murphy are amongst the black performers who took trophies home.
Nine-time Emmy Award nominee, Anthony Anderson, in a conversation with the host of this year’s award ceremony, Jimmy Kimmel, reckoned that “This Emmys would have been MBA all-stars weekend and Wakanda all wrapped in one. This was supposed to be the blackest Emmys ever. Y’all wouldn’t have been able to handle how black it was gonna be. But because of COVID, we can’t even get in the damn building…”
He goes on to say, “…We would have had speeches quoting our great poets like Maya Angelou, Langston Hughes…but instead of that sexy melanated energy, here I am alone in a sterilized green room, trying not to sneeze on a llama… This isn’t what it should have been, Jimmy. But you know what? I’m still rooting for everyone black. Because black stories, black performances, and black lives matter…”
In line with the “Black Lives Matter” initiative, a number of celebrities used their outfits as a method of accentuating the fight against systemic racism and racism from all angles especially following the six months old death of Breonna Taylor who fatally fell victim to police brutality. Amongst those who made a statement with their fashion choices are Regina King, Uzo Aduba and Sandra Oh.
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Regina King, who has previously held three Primetime Emmy awards in different categories, added another last night to sum it up to a whopping four for the prestigious award. She won the award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Television Movie for her performance in Watchmen where she plays Angela Abar/ Sister Night.
Speaking of her outfit at the Emmys which carried Taylor’s name and image, King notes that, “The cops still haven’t been held accountable. She represents decades, hundreds of years of violence against black bodies. Breonna Taylor does. And to show I feel like this, was wearing Breonna. It’s like representing her and her family. And the things, the stories we were exploring, that we were presenting, that we were holding a mirror up to in Watchmen, it felt appropriate to represent with Breonna Taylor.”
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It may be recalled that Breonna Taylor, an Afro-American 26-year-old, was shot to her untimely death at her residence on the 13th of March, 2020 (six months ago) by three officers of the Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD).
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II who plays Carl Abar/ Doctor Manhattan also in Watchmen, also won an Emmy award for the first time. He placed Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie. During his acceptance speech, he dedicates the win to all the black women in his life, the people who believed in him first, and goes on to call them his early investors.
Uzo Aduba won the Emmys for the third time (as Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie) for her role as Shirley Chisholm in Mrs. America. She holds the place of winning the Emmy Awards for both the category of drama and comedy with only one other actor by name Ed Asner. She greeted her win with pleasant surprise and exclaimed, “Wow! Wow!!… Mom, I won!”
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While Jimmy Kimmel who played host to the 72nd Emmy awards ceremony notes that this year makes history as having the lowest viewer rating ever, the congratulations to all who won keep rolling in, and the festivities are yet to subside.
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