Zoe Saldaña Dedicates Her BAFTA To Trans Relative After Winning Over Audience With Emotional Speech
Zoe Saldaña walked away with best supporting actress at , winning over the audience with an emotional - and then expletive-laden - speech, before dedicating her prize to her trans nephew.
Saldaña won the award for her part in Emilia Pérez, in which she plays a lawyer who helps a cartel leader disappear and transition into a woman.
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Speaking in the winners’ press conference, Deadline reported that Saldaña dedicated the award to her transgender nephew Eli Saldaña, saying: 'He is the reason — they are the reason — I signed up to do this film in the first place. As a proud aunt of a trans life, I will always stand with my trans community.'
On winning the award on stage, Saldaña said, ‘I was told not to cry by my children, so I’ll try. This is so validating and a true honour, because the very few times that I went for a part with a British accent or dialect coach, I was like, “This is not going to happen to you.” Even though I have a lot of British friends, I find myself repeating all their phrases, and I know that I’m a pain in the a***.’
She added: BAFTA thank you, this was a creative challenge of a lifetime. How do you begin to even approach a film that not just defies categorisation, and you start by taking the leap with Jacques Audiard. I want to thank my wonderful cast… Films are supposed to change hearts and challenge minds and I hope I did something like this. Voices need to be heard, just not my English accent.’
After she read out a long list of thank yous, - including lead actor Karla Sofía Gascón who has been mired in controversy after a series of old Tweets were unearthed - the actor panicked, saying: ‘Oh my god I'm getting a countdown. F*** f*** f***!’
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