Julia Louis-Dreyfus took to the stage once again at the SAG Awards, winning yet another statue for her work in Veep. During her speech, the always hilarious Louis-Dreyfus spoofed the Russia Hack by delivering a very Trump-ian acceptance speech. Not only did she claim there was “a million” people in the crowd if not more, but she then solidified the win by saying “This award is legitimate, and I won. I’m the winner. The winner is me. Landslide!” It was a humorous opening to a speech that then turned somber, as she turned her attention to the current immigration ban being carried out at airports all over the country.
Before reading aloud a statement released by the Writers Guild of America which she endorsed heartily, she talked about her patriotism and her father, who fled Nazi-occupied France when he was young and eventually became one of the richest men in the world before passing away last year. The actress said that she loves America, even when she is horrified by its blemishes and that this is certainly a blemish on the country’s record and it is un-American.
A similar theme continued throughout the night with other acceptance speeches, such as the extremely diverse cast of Orange Is The New Black supporting people from all walks of life, or Speechless‘ William H. Macy thanking President Trump for making his character Frank Gallagher “seem so normal.”
One of the most powerful speeches came from Moonlight‘s Mahershala Ali, who touched on his background and his family, his status as a Muslim living in America, and what happens when specific sets of people are persecuted — most notably what that does to their community and their ability to flourish.
https://twitter.com/kevinpokeeffe/status/825882317860253697
Bryan Cranston, who won for portraying President Lyndon B. Johnson in All The Way, said that he truly believes President Johnson would have sincerely wished President Trump luck while also telling him not to “piss in the soup that everybody eats.” Which of course is important advice for Trump right now, if he’s taking advice from anyone at all.
Emma Stone, who is expected to take home an Oscar for her La La Land portrayal as well, used the end of her speech to fit in a reference to the tricky times that America currently finds itself, and how thankful she is to be a part of an organization that wants to be a part of the best of things.
