Jharrel Jerome dedicated his Emmy Award win to "the Exonerated Five".
The 21-year-old actor took home the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie for ‘When They See Us’ – Ava DunVernay’s series about five men of colour who were wrongly prosecuted for rape and assault and later had their convictions vacated – and admitted it had been an "honour" to be involved in the show.
After thanking Ava for "giving [him] this opportunity" and his mother, who was his guest for the evening, Jharrel said: "Most importantly, this is for the men that we know as the Exonerated Five. Thank you so much. It’s an honour; it’s a blessing."
Jharrel beat the likes of ‘True Detective’ star Mahershala Ali,
Benicio Del Toro (‘Escape at Dannemora’), Hugh Grant from ‘A Very English Scandal’, ‘Chernobyl’ star Jared Harris and ‘Fosse/Verdon’s Sam Rockwell to take the honour.
Sam’s co-star, Michelle Williams, won the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie and expressed passionate thanks for being "empowered" to do her job properly and called for other employers to help women in the same way.
She said: "I see this as an acknowledgement of what is possible when a woman is trusted to discern her own needs, feels safe enough to voice them and respected enough that they’ll be heard.
"I asked for more dance classes, yes, voice lessons, yes, a different wig, yes, all these things required more effort and cost more money but my bosses never presumed to know better than I did on how to do my job so I want to say thank you for supporting me completely and for paying me equally because they understood that when you put value into a person it empowers that person to get in touch with their own inherent value and put it into their work.
"They understood that when you put value into a person, it empowers that person to get in touch with their own inherent value. And then where do they put that value? They put it into their work.
"And so the next time someone — especially a woman of colour, because she stands to make 52 cents on the dollar to her white male counterpart — tells you what she needs to do her job, listen to her, believe her. Because one day, she might stand in front of you and say thank you for allowing her to succeed because of her workplace environment, and not in spite of it."
Shortlisted alongside Michelle were Amy Adams for ‘Sharp Objects’, ‘Escape at Dannemora’ star Patricia Arquette, Joey King (‘The Act’) and two ‘When They See Us’ stars, Aunjanue Ellis and Nicey Nash.
Ben Whishaw confessed to being "hungover" when he picked up the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie for ‘A Very English Scandal’, beating out ‘Escape At Dannemora’ actor Paul Dano and ‘When They See Us’ stars Asante Blackk, John Leguizamo and Michael K. Williams.
He told the audience at Los Angeles’ Microsoft Theatre: "I’m hungover, my agent took me out for drinks and I’m hungover, but anyway…
"I want to thank Stephen Briers for being a wonderful director, I want to thank the magnificent actors, especially Hugh Grant, I hope you get one of these, I really do.
"Most of all Russell T. Davis for the exquisite writing, you couldn’t really get it wrong.
"My partner Marc, his love has kept me somewhat sane."
Jharrel Jerome dedicates Emmy win to Exonerated Five
