#The 2021 Emmys Winning Circle Is Very White

“RuPaul’s Drag Race” won the Emmy for Best Competition Show. Now with 11 wins overall, RuPaul as both the host and producer of the show has now broken the record for the most Emmy wins by a person of color and the reality competition show the most Emmy-decorated. This is a step in the right direction, but it’s telling when the person of color most decorated in Emmy history has won all of the statues for the same show.

Following a long-winded acceptance speech by “The Queen’s Gambit” showrunner Scott Frank, Michaela Coel was announced as the winner for Best Writing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for “I May Destroy You.” Coel took to the stage and delivered a powerful message about “writing what scares you” and dedicating her speech to survivors of sexual abuse, doing more with her allotted 45 seconds than just about anyone else all night save for Debbie Allen and Jean Smart. 

It was so powerful, in a sea of predominately white people thanking other white people, that someone finally said something of merit. “In a world that entices us to browse the lives of others to help us better determine how we feel about ourselves, and to, in turn, feel the need to be constantly visible — for visibility, these days, seems to somehow equate to success — do not be afraid to disappear from it, from us, for a while,” Coel said. “And see what comes to you in the silence.”

Look, I’m not trying to say that the actors featured in “Ted Lasso,” “The Queen’s Gambit,” “Hacks,” and “The Crown” aren’t remarkably talented performers. But I am saying it is atrocious that, in a historic year of dynamite performances, the Academy continued to place higher value on white performers.

The #EmmyAwards are going to be #EmmysSoWhite until they recognize that symbolic representation (presenters, nominees) don’t make up for a voting body that refuses to acknowledge that Black, Brown, Indigenous, and other people of color deserve to WIN #theemmys2021 #emmys

— Laura P.B. Partain (@LauraPbP_PhD) September 20, 2021

Inviting people of color to present is not enough. Giving speeches on the importance of diversity rings hollow when there aren’t accolades to back up the sentiments. The Emmys need to do better. Period.