Viola Davis and Taraji P. Henson made history at the Emmys on Sunday night. Up until that night, there hadn’t been two African American actresses nominated in the Outstanding Actress category. No one knew how the awards were going to pan out, but the odds were that Henson or Davis was going to walk away with a big honor.
Viola Davis won the Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series award, making her the first African American to ever win this particular award at the Emmys. Taraji P. Henson, who was nominated for her turn in Empire , had the same opportunity to take home the trophy and make history as an African American, but that said, Henson told Ellen DeGeneres that winning against Davis would have felt “weird.”
After the Emmys, Taraji went on The Ellen DeGeneres Show to talk about the upcoming second season of her hit Fox show Empire . The two immediately spoke about the Emmys, as it was fresh on everyone’s minds.
At the time, Henson said, “I think the universe is happy. Viola deserved that award. And honestly it would have felt weird if I had gotten it over her…. She’s been doing it longer. You’ve just got to give respect and know when your time is.”
This isn’t the first time that Henson has spoke out in support of colleague and friend Viola Davis. The actress told Entertainment Weekly that making history is “bittersweet.”
“Because here we are in 2015, and we’re still saying things like, ‘First African-American,’ ‘First woman this.’ I just pray to God… and it’s not even about me. I hope Viola wins. I hope I win. Just so we can get past this and we don’t have to say in 2020 or 2030 or 3000, ‘The first’ – I mean, come on, really.”
When Viola Davis made history on Sunday night, she gave a speech based off of a famous Harriet Tubman quote.
“In my mind, I see a line. And over that line, I see green fields and lovely flowers and beautiful white women with their arms stretched out to me over that line, but I can’t seem to get there no-how. I can’t seem to get over that line.”
Then Davis pointed out the distinction between African-American women.
“The only thing that separates women of color from anyone else is opportunity. You cannot win an Emmy for roles that are simply not there.”
Of the touching speech, Henson said, “I love what she said. If the roles don’t exist then you can’t even be nominated and you can’t have a chance to win. So, you have to create the roles first, and thank God for people like Shonda Rhimes.”
[Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images]
