Mj Rodriguez Makes History with Emmy Nomination
Category is: Making History.
On Tuesday, Mj Rodriguez made history as she was nominated for an Emmy Award for her role as Blanca on the acclaimed FX series Pose. Rodriguez is the first out, trans woman to be nominated in the “Outstanding Lead Actress” category and the first out, trans performer to ever be nominated in any lead acting category.
Speaking to Entertainment Tonight from the South of France, where she is attending the Cannes Film Festival, Rodriguez was full of emotion and happy tears.
Mj Rodriguez reacts to her historic #Emmys nomination on Instagram Live:
“I’ve been wanting to express, and feel, and spread love all my life, and I’ve always wanted to spread it through my art, and I finally feel like I can do it; I finally feel like people are seeing it." pic.twitter.com/NBwLgtSiEX
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) July 13, 2021
“I feel like I can float all the way off the ground,” she says. “For me, being recognized by my peers and by my colleagues, it just means the world to me. It just goes to show what the human condition can do, what you can do—as cheesy as that sounds—love fucking wins. And I feel all the hope in my spirit.”
She adds, “I’m a human at the end of the day. All I wanted was the world to see me; I wanted them to see that I had something to offer.”
Rodriguez’s nomination comes seven years after Laverne Cox became the first transgender person to ever be nominated for an acting Emmy (“Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series” in 2014 for Orange Is the New Black), and one year after the Emmys nominated two trans performers, Cox for “Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series” for the final season of OITNB and Rain Valdez for “Outstanding Actress in a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series” for Razor Tongue, for the first time ever in the same year.
Holy shit!!! @MjRodriguez7 just made HISTORY as the first Trans actress to ever be nominated for Best Actress in a Drama Series @TelevisionAcad #Emmys ???? ???? pic.twitter.com/FSxrSrLexH
— Steven Canals (@StevenCanals) July 13, 2021
In addition to Rodriguez, the third and final season of Pose garnered a total of nine nominations. Not only did the series pick up another nod for “Outstanding Drama Series,” but Billy Porter earned his third consecutive nomination for “Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series” for his role as Pray Tell, which he won in 2019.
“Michaela Jaé (Mj) Rodriguez’s Emmy nomination for ‘Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series’ is a breakthrough for transgender women in Hollywood, and a long-overdue recognition for her groundbreaking performance over the past three seasons of Pose,” GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis says in a statement. “Additionally, the show’s nomination for ‘Outstanding Drama Series,’ as well as Billy Porter’s third nomination for ‘Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series,’ mark a historic show that undoubtedly raised the bar for trans representation on television and changed the way viewers around the world understand the trans community.”
GLAAD rallied more than 40 organizations for an open letter last month that encouraged Emmy voters to support the groundbreaking series in its final season, calling it a show that “transformed the landscape of transgender representation in Hollywood and educated the world on who transgender people are.”
#Grateful ✨✨✨ https://t.co/g81ceQk4En
— Billy Porter (@theebillyporter) July 13, 2021
Pose has been a trailblazer since its premiere in 2018 by featuring the largest trans cast in TV history. Until now, none of the trans female cast members had been recognized by the Emmys.
Click here to see a full list of the 73rd annual Emmy Award nominations. Other LGBTQ-inclusive nominations go to RuPaul’s Drag Race, Netflix’s Queer Eye, Schitt’s Creek star and creator Dan Levy, actress Samira Wiley, actor Bowen Yang, and satirist Randy Rainbow.
Photos Courtesy of Social Media
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