The 71st annual Emmy Awards, which went hostless this year, is currently underway and is airing live on Fox from the Microsoft Theatre in Los Angeles
Michelle Williams accepts the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie award for 'Fosse/Verdon' onstage during the 71st Emmy Awards at the Microsoft Theatre in Los Angeles. Pic/AFP
Michelle Williams took home the award for Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie at the 2019 Emmys for her role as Gwen Verdon on FX's 'Fosse/Verdon'. This was the star's first-ever Emmy win, reported The Hollywood Reporter. She is also nominated as an executive producer for 'Fosse/Verdon'.
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She used the moment to speak about equal pay. Accepting her award from Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Williams said that the win felt like "an acknowledgment 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."
"When I asked for more dance classes I heard, 'Yes'; more voice lessons, 'Yes'; a different wig, a pair of fake teeth not made of rubber, 'Yes.' All of these things they require effort and they cost more money but my bosses never presumed to know better than I did about what I needed in order to do my job and honour Gwen Verdon," she added.
She also thanked FX and Fox 21st Studios for paying her the same as her co-star Sam Rockwell, who stars as Bob Fosse, saying that "they understood that when you put value in a person, it empowers that person to get in touch with their own inherent value and where do they put that value? They put it into their work."
Williams added, "Next time a woman, and especially a woman of colour, because she stands to make 52 cents on the dollar compared to her white male counterpart -- tells you what she needs in order 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'."
The actor beat out top contenders including Amy Adams (Sharp Objects), Patricia Arquette (Escape at Dannemora), Joey King (The Act), Aunjanue Ellis (When They see Us) and Niecy Nash (When They See Us). The 71st annual Emmy Awards, which went hostless this year, is currently underway and is airing live on Fox from the Microsoft Theatre in Los Angeles.
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