Emmys 2021: All 12 Major Acting Awards Go to White Actors

This year’s Primetime Emmy Awards may have featured a more diverse lineup of nominees than ever before, but these record-breaking numbers unfortunately didn’t translate to wins. Every major acting Emmy was handed out to a white performer, despite multiple nominees of color being present in almost every category.

Netflix’s The Crown swept the drama categories, with actors Gillian Anderson, Tobias Menzies, Josh O’Connor, and Olivia Colman taking home Emmys. Pose stars Billy Porter and Mj Rodriguez had been heavily favored to win lead actor and actress in a drama, awards which instead went to O’Connor and Colman. Had Rodriguez won, she would’ve made history as the first transgender performer to win an Emmy in a lead acting category. Meanwhile, if Porter or This Is Us star Sterling K. Brown had taken home a trophy, either would’ve become the second Black man to ever win lead actor twice after Bill Cosby.

Iconic television actor Michael K. Williams was snubbed for a posthumous Emmy for his work on HBO’s Lovecraft Country. Although presenter Kerry Washington paid tribute to Williams before introducing the nominees, the award ultimately went to Menzies.

The Emmys also missed out on several potential milestones in comedy awards, such as awarding its first Chinese-American or non-binary performer for supporting actor in a comedy (Saturday Night Live star Bowen Yang and Hacks‘ Carl Clemons-Hopkins, respectively), or recognizing a woman of color for supporting actress in a comedy for the first time (The Flight Attendant‘s Rosie Perez). Apple TV+’s Ted Lasso and HBO’s Hacks ultimately cleaned up in the comedy categories, with wins for Jason Sudeikis, Jean Smart, and more.

Meanwhile, Kate Winslet, Julianne Nicholson, and Evan Peters took home limited series awards for Mare of Easttown, while Ewan McGregor won best actor in a limited or anthology series or movie for his role in Netflix’s Halston. In a shocking snub, Hamilton actors like Lin-Manuel Miranda, Leslie Odom Jr., and Renée Elise Goldsberry were shut out of the category, as well as I May Destroy You star and creator Michaela Coel (who became the first Black woman to win for the writing limited category).

RuPaul’s Drag Race host RuPaul Charles also took the stage, winning for oustanding host for a reality or competition program and becoming the most-awarded Black artist in Emmys history.