Patricia Arquette used her Emmy acceptance speech for her role in Hulu’s “The Act” to mention someone who unfortunately could not be there to celebrate with her: her sister, Alexis, the actress and transgender activist who died in 2016.
“In my heart, I’m so sad I lost my sister Alexis and that trans people are still being persecuted,” Arquette said while accepting the Emmy award for best supporting actress in a limited series or movie. “I’m in mourning every day of my life, Alexis.”
Arquette was greeted with cheers as she petitioned for less persecution of and more job security for transgender people, saying “let’s get rid of this bias that we have everywhere.”
The enthusiasm was notable from “Orange is the New Black” actress Laverne Cox, who had brought ACLU staff attorney Chase Strangio as her date to the ceremony and whose accessories included a rainbow clutch that included the words “October 8th, Title VII Supreme Court.”
The upcoming case will decide whether a federal employment law that bans discrimination based on sex can also be used to protect members of the transgender community.
This isn’t the first time that Arquette has used her podium to get political. Her 2015 Oscars speech, which she gave while accepting the supporting actress trophy for “Boyhood,” called for pay equity. While accepting for female actor in a miniseries or TV movie for her work in Showtime’s “Escape at Dannemora” at the 2019 Screen Actors Guild Awards, she thanked former FBI director Robert Mueller and “everyone working to make sure we have sovereignty for the United States of America.”