The LGBT Community Was The Real Winner At Last Night's Emmys
Last night's Emmys had plenty of Donald Trump jokes—including a divisive cameo by Sean Spicer—but in the first year of a Trump presidency, the Emmys were more diverse than ever, including plenty of queer representation.
Kate McKinnon was one of the first winners of the evening, picking up another Emmy for her work on Saturday Night Live. In her acceptance speech she thanked Hillary Clinton—one of the many people McKinnon played over the past season of SNL—for her "grace and grit."
Later in the ceremony, Lena Waithe from Master of None became the first black woman to win the Emmy for writing in a comedy series for her coming out episode, "Thanksgiving," from the Netflix series' second season. In her speech, Waithe thanked her Master of None team, and her "chosen family," including her queer brothers and sisters.
"I see each and every one of you. The things that make us different those are our super powers... the world would not be as beautiful as it is if you weren’t in it," she said.
Waithe ended her speech thanking the voters of the Television Academy for "embracing a little queer black girl from the South Side of Chicago."
The Black Mirror episode, "San Junipero," about two women (played by Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Mackenzie Davis) falling in love in a paradisal beach town, won two Emmys for Outstanding Writing and Outstanding Made for Television Movie.
RuPaul's Drag Race was nominated for Outstanding Reality Competition Series, but the first-time nominee lost out to NBC's The Voice. RuPaul might not have sashayed onto the stage to collect a trophy, but that doesn't mean he was absent from the broadcast. In a pre-recorded skit, RuPaul played a living Emmys statue who sat down with host Stephen Colbert to spill some tea about the other shady awards.
The Handmaid's Tale took home the top prize of Outstanding Drama Series, along with Elisabeth Moss winning Outstanding Lead Actress. Alexis Bledel won an Emmy last weekend for her portrayal of a lesbian in the dystopian Hulu series, and she was on hand to present at last night's ceremony.
They may not have walked away with any Emmys last night, but Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda and Dolly Parton took the stage for a 9 to 5 reunion, and the three icons turned their bit into a Trump roast when they brought up the plot to their 1980 movie together.
“Back in 1980, in that movie, we refused to be controlled by a sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot,” said Fonda.
“And in 2017, we still refuse to be controlled by a sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot,” added Tomlin, to rapturous applause from the audience.
“I'm just hoping that I am going to get one of those Grace and Frankie vibrators in my swag bag today,” Parton quipped.
Scroll through below for a complete list of winners from the 2017 Emmys.
Outstanding Drama Series
The Handmaid’s Tale
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
The Handmaid’s Tale
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series
Sterling K. Brown-This Is Us
Outstanding Limited Series
Big Little Lies
Outstanding Television Movie
Black Mirror: San Junipero
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie
Nicole Kidman-Big Little Lies
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie
Riz Ahmed-The Night Of
Outstanding Comedy Series
Veep
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
Julia Louis-Dreyfus-Veep
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
Atlanta
Outstanding Directing for a Variety Series
Saturday Night Live
Outstanding Writing For A Limited Series, Movie Or Dramatic Special
Black Mirror: San Junipero
Outstanding Directing for a Limited Series, TV Movie or Special
The Handmaid’s Tale
Outstanding Reality-Competition Series
The Voice
Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series
Aziz Ansari
Lena Waithe
Master of None
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Ann Dowd-The Handmaid’s Tale
Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series
Last Week Tonight With John Oliver
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie
Alexander Skarsgård
Outstanding Directing for a Limited Series, Movie or Dramatic Special
Jean-Marc Vallée-Big Little Lies
Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Comedy Series
Alec Baldwin-Saturday Night Live
Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series
The Handmaid’s Tale
Offred (Pilot)
Outstanding Variety Sketch Series
Saturday Night Live
Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series
Donald Glover-Atlanta
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie
Laura Dern – Big Little Lies
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Kate McKinnon – Saturday Night Live
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
John Lithgow – The Crown