The Academy Awards are still weeks away, though one nominee has already made history.
West Side Story star Ariana DeBose took home the Screen Actor’s Guild Award for Best Supporting Actress last night for her performance in the film. The event marks the first time in the history of the awards that a queer woman of color has snagged the trophy.
“Thank you. My heart is beating in my chest right now. It’s taken a long time for me to feel comfortable calling myself an actor,” DeBose, 31, said in her acceptance speech. “My roots come from the dance world and the Broadway stage, and the Anita we see on screen took every bit of me but she took 10 years to make and I’m extremely proud of her and our film. And I really do believe that when you recognize one of us, you recognize all of us so thank you SAG-AFTRA for this recognition.”
Related: The Oscar nominations are in and Lady Gaga fans are having a collective meltdown
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“It’s an honor to be seen, it’s an honor to be an Afro-Latina – and openly queer woman of color, a dancer, a singer, and an actor,” DeBose later told reporters in the SAG Awards press room. “It’s indicative to me that I will not be the last and that’s the important part. Whatever firsts are attached to my name, they are immensely special to me but I’m focused on the fact that if I’m the first of anything that means I won’t be the last.”
Elsewhere at the SAG Awards, The Power of the Dog shocked viewers when it failed to win any awards. Within Hollywood, the film is widely considered a frontrunner for Oscar glory. Darkhorse winners also triumphed, including Coda‘s Troy Kotsur, who took home a Best Supporting Actor Award and Jessica Chastain, who snagged Best Actress for her work in The Eyes of Tammy Faye.
Queer viewers also got another treat in the form of a Romy and Michelle’s High School Reunion reunion, as stars Lisa Kudrow and Mira Sorvino reunited in character to present the award for Best Comedy Ensemble.
SDR94103
ugh
startenout
Just STFU
Cam
The right wing troll account and all of it’s screenames hates it when groups that it hates get recognized.
The only problem here is figuring out if it’s your anti-LGBTQ bigotry, your rac-ism, or your hatred of women that caused your comment.
Polaro
So, what does queer mean with respect to this person?
Aaron
Google it.
Polaro
I don’t need to Google it. I need you to re-read the question and deal with it. Queer is a nebulous word. What does it mean with respect to her? Do you get it or are you just too dense?
Kangol2
Ariana DeBose is incredibly talented so I’m glad she’s being honored for her performance, but even an updated West Side Story is really retrograde at this point. I can’t wait to see her using her many talents in other films and TV projects.
SDWalker96
Definitely the highlight of the Spielberg WSS for me. Great stuff!
JRamonMc
What a beautiful and talented individual. Willie Giest did an absolutely great story this past Sunday on her. Highly recommend.