Sheryl Lee Ralph’s Emmy acceptance speech will be one of the most talked about moments of the night.
LOS ANGELES — Sheryl Lee Ralph was so moved by her Emmy win, she had to respond in song.
Ralph took the Emmy Award for best supporting actress in a comedy series Monday night for her role as a devoutly religious kindergarten teacher on ABC’s “Abbott Elementary.”
It’s the first Emmy and first nomination for the 65-year-old Ralph, who was in tears and had to gather herself after accepting the trophy.
She opened her speech with a powerfully delivered acapella version of the song “Endangered Species” by Dianne Reeves.
“I am an endangered species, but I sing no victim song. I am a woman, I am an artist and I know where my voice belongs,” she belted out. She then encouraged anyone doubting their dream “I am here to tell you this is what believing looks like.”
Her win, and reaction, were hugely popular inside the Microsoft Theater.
“We love you!” a man shouted from the rear seats as she arrived on stage. The audience, including Lizzo and many of television’s biggest stars, leapt to their feet to cheer on Ralph.
Moments later, Brett Goldstein won his second straight Emmy Award for his role on “Ted Lasso.”
In the second season of the Apple TV+ show, Goldstein’s character Roy Kent went from cranky veteran player to angry television analyst to grouchy assistant coach of the English soccer team at the center of the show, on which he’s also a writer.