Niecy Nash-Betts Gives Electrifying Emmy Acceptance Speech
Written by djfrosty on January 16, 2024
Source: Emma McIntyre / Getty
Niecy Nash-Betts exhilarated the audience when she took to the stage to accept the Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for her role as Glenda Cleveland in Netflix’s Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.
The outspoken actress was her characteristic self with a speech that was both funny and poignant.
After thanking God, her wife, Jessica Betts, Ryan Murphy, the creator of the series, and Evan Peters–her co-star, Nash added, “And you know who I want to thank? I want to thank me.”
“For believing in me and doing what they said I could not do, and I want to say to myself in front of all you beautiful people, ‘Go on girl with your bad self. You did that.’”
The statement received rousing applause from the audience and Nash-Betts added, “Finally, I accept this award on behalf of every Black and brown woman who has gone unheard yet over-policed. Like Glenda Cleveland, like Sandra Bland, like Breonna Taylor. As an artist, my job is to speak truth to power, and baby I’mma do it till the day I die. Mama, I won.”
Nash-Betts portrayed Glenda Cleveland who was Dahmer’s neighbor. It was Cleveland who repeatedly contacted police about Dahmer’s irregular behavior and she was repeatedly ignored as the killer went on to murder more than a dozen men–most of whom were Black and Brown.
According to Huffington Post, Nash-Betts expounded on her remarks in the press room following her win where she stated, “I’m the only one who knows how many nights I cried because I couldn’t be seen for a certain type of role,” she said. “I’m the one who knows what it’s like to go through a divorce on camera and you still have to pull up and show out.”
“And you still have to go home [because] you have children and a whole life. So, I’m proud of myself. I’m proud that I did something that people said I could not do because I believed in me. And sometimes people don’t believe in themselves. I hope my speech was a delicious invitation for people to do just that,” she continued. “Believe in yourself and congratulate yourself. Sometimes you’ve got to encourage – what? Yourself. And that’s why it’s not called ‘mama-esteem,’ ‘them-esteem,’ ‘us-esteem.’ It’s called ‘self-esteem’ — because don’t nobody got to believe it but you.”