Regina King is grateful Uzo Aduba also wore a Breonna Taylor T-shirt at the Emmys
Regina King on the "Magical" and "Heartbreaking" 'Watchmen' Episode That Brings Her to Tears to Think About
The Emmy nominated actress on how her mind was blown reading the first script for the HBO series.
Watchmen star Regina King and Mrs. America actress Uzo Aduba both won Emmys on Sunday, and both women used their platforms — as well as their wardrobes — to remind viewers about other pressing matters.
During the virtual ceremony, King accepted the award for Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie from home while wearing a T-shirt honoring Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old Black woman who was fatally shot in her own apartment after midnight by Louisville police in March. In the Emmy press room, King said she felt even stronger about the cause after seeing Aduba also wearing a Breonna Taylor shirt during the show.
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"When I saw my sister Uzo had on the same shirt, it was a confirmation that this was right," she told reporters.
The actresses have previously spoken about Taylor, with King wearing the shirt for a social media post in August raising awareness about the Taylor case and the plight of Black women facing police brutality.
150 days since BREONNA TAYLOR was murdered. Too often BLACK WOMEN who die from police violence are forgotten. SAY HER NAME. This tee was made in partnership with the BREONNA TAYLOR Foundation to whom all profits are given. https://t.co/FgxDiUORBP pic.twitter.com/mWq1oybSWX
— Regina King (@ReginaKing) August 10, 2020
"Whether you like it or not, when you've decided to take on this career choice to be a part of the thespian community, if you do have success in it you have a platform," King said Sunday. "I love being a Black woman, I love being a Black girl, I love being American, and it's important that people see all of those things together, and when you have the platform to celebrate that, when you have the platform to remind those that tend to look past Black girls, Black women, and you have the opportunity to celebrate, I will do it a million times over. You take it. You seize it."
Aduba, who won the Emmy for Best Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie, said she was "amazingly touched" by King's words about her.
"Regina is who she says she is, which is my favorite thing about her," Aduba told reporters. "I loved when I saw her shirt, and standing in it with such strength and power that we all know she has. She's a born leader, and it made me so happy to see her wear it and to know that we are saying her name."
King, who has now won four Emmys, urged everyone to vote in her acceptance speech, because she "would be remiss not to mention that being apart of a show as prescient as Watchmen."
"Have a voting plan," she said. "Go to ballotpedia.com and find out who are voting in your municipal elections, it is very important. Be a good human." She also paid her respects to the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died Friday at 87. "Rest in power, RBG," King said.
Other celebrities who have advocated for justice for Taylor include John Legend and Beyoncé, the latter of whom wrote an open letter to Attorney General Daniel Cameron asking that "swift and decisive action" be taken in charging the three officers involved in the killing — Jonathan Mattingly, Brett Hankison, and Myles Cosgrove. The three have not been not criminally charged.
With reporting by Sydney Bucksbaum.
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