Niecy Nash-Betts Thanks Herself in Rousing Emmys Speech: ‘You Did That!’

Niecy Nash-Betts took home her first Primetime Emmy Award on Monday, and the five-time nominee took the opportunity to celebrate herself for the milestone achievement. Up top, the actress thanked God for “this divine moment;” then Murphy, Netflix, the Academy voters and her wife, Jessica Betts. But then, it was time for some self-love.

“And you know who I want to thank? I want to thank me for believing in me and doing what they said I could not do,” the actress said during her acceptance speech. “And I want to say to myself in front of all these beautiful people, go on girl with your bad self. You did that!”

Nash-Betts won the prize in the category of Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series, for her performance in Ryan Murphy’s “Dahmer — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.” Starring alongside Evan Peters, Nash-Betts plays Dahmer’s suspicious neighbor, Glenda Cleveland, who tried to warn the police about the serial killer multiple times before he was eventually caught.

“Finally, I accept this award on behalf of every Black and brown woman who has gone unheard yet over-policed like Glenda Cleveland like Sandra Bland, like Breonna Taylor,” she said, finishing up her speech. “As an artist, my job is to speak truth to power and baby, I’m going to do it until the day I die.”

The actress previously told TheWrap, “I feel like there have been times in my life when I’ve been a Glenda Cleveland. I feel like we all are, and if you haven’t (been) yet, keep on living. Sometimes you say a thing and even though you say it, you’re not believed or heard or there is no course of action towards what you are saying. But despite all that, Glenda kept on fighting and trying and trying, and that reminds me of me in a way. I never stop trying. When people told me that I’m funny, to stay in my lane, I would say, ‘No. I can try.’ And now I can finally invite the industry and my peers to see me differently, to see me as I see myself.”

Nash-Betts was previously nominated for “Getting On,” “When They See Us,” and most recently, “Reno 911!: The Hunt for QAnon.”

Watch the full speech in the video below:

Nash-Betts also discussed her decision to thank herself in the Emmys press room. “I’m the only one who knows what it cost me… I’m proud of myself,” she said. “I hope my speech was a delicious invitation to do just that: believe in yourself and congratulate yourself.”

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