It may have been the highlight of the 2015 Emmy Awards:
Viola Davis became the first African-American to ever win Lead Actress in a Drama, breaking into tears on stage, quoting Harriet Tubman and earning a standing ovation.
You can watch the stirring speech above.
Nearly everyone who watched the Emmys cited Davis’ triumph as a step in the right direction for Hollywood… all except Nancy Lee Grahn, that is.
“I wish I loved #ViolaDavis Speech, but I thought she should have let @shondarhimes write it,” the General Hospital star wrote, citing the Grey’s Anatomy creator and How to Get Away with Murder producer.
Along with quoting Tubman and giving props to fellow stars Kerry Washington and Halle Berry, Davis said:
“The only thing that separates women of color from everyone else is opportunity… You cannot win an Emmy for roles that are simply not there.
“So here’s to all the writers, the awesome people – people who have redefined what it means to be beautiful, to be sexy, to be a leading woman, to be black.”
Grahn took issue with this message.
“I think she’s the bees knees but she’s elite of TV performers. Brilliant as she is. She has never been discriminated against…
“Try being any woman in TV. Wish she’d brought every woman in the picture. I wish I’d opportunity to play roles she gets.”
Following major backlash (note to pretty much all Caucasians: refrain from ever telling an African-American that he or she has never faced discrimination), Grahn jumped back on Twitter and wrote the following:
Viola Davis winning lead actress Emmy’s historic. My upset is acting awards dont fix racial injustice. As an actor I see how irrelevant we r. I never mean to diminish her accomplishment. She is a goddess. I want equality 4 ALL women, not just actors.
We’re sure Davis would say the same.
