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‘RuPaul’s Drag Race,’ ‘Versace’ win big for LGBT TV at Emmys

‘The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,’ ‘Game of Thrones’ rack up the most awards

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RuPaul accepts the award for Outstanding Reality Competition Series (Screen capture by Joey DiGuglielmo)

The 70th annual Primetime Emmy Awards honored the best in television on Monday night including a few wins for LGBT TV.

The biggest night in television kicked off with an opening dance number led by “Saturday Night Live” cast members Kate McKinnon and Kenan Thompson. The bit jokingly celebrated Hollywood finally finding a solution to its diversity problem. McKinnon and Thompson were later joined on stage by other TV stars such as “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” star Tituss Burgess and RuPaul.

“Saturday Night Live” continued to represent itself as the show passed on to its hosts Colin Jost and Michael Che.

“RuPaul’s Drag Race” made herstory with its win for Outstanding Reality Competition Series rounding out five total wins for the show. RuPaul, Michelle Visage, Ross Matthews and Carson Kressley all were on stage to accept the award.

“Thank you to the Academy. This is so lovely. We are so happy to present this show. I would like to thank, on behalf of the 140 drag queens we have released into the wild, I’d love to thank Dick Richards for introducing me to Randy Barbato and Fenton Bailey,” RuPaul said in his speech.  “All of the dreamers out there, listen,” he said. “If you can’t love yourself, how in the hell are you gonna love somebody else? Can I get an amen up in here? Now let the music play.”

RuPaul also won his third consecutive award for Outstanding Host at the Creative Arts Emmys.

“The Assassination of Gianni Versace” also was honored with Ryan Murphy winning Outstanding Directing for a Limited Series, Movie or Dramatic Special and Darren Criss winning Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or a Movie. The show also won Outstanding Limited Series. Murphy used his speech to spotlight hate crimes against the LGBTQ community.

“‘The Assassination of Gianni Versace’ is about a lot of things, it’s about homophobia, internalized and externalized,” Murphy said in his acceptance speech. “One of out of every four LGBTQ people in this country will be the victim of a hate crime. We dedicate this award to them, to awareness, to stricter hate crime laws, and mostly, this is for the memory of Jeff and David and Gianni and for all of those taken too soon. Thank you very much.”

LGBT representation continued throughout the night with lesbian comedian Hannah Gadbys, known for her critically acclaimed Netflix special “Nanette,” who presented Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series. The cast of “Queer Eye” also took the stage to present as well as RuPaul and Leslie Jones, who recently became close after Jones’ “Drag Race” binge.

“Game of Thrones” was the big winner of the night taking home nine awards including Outstanding Drama Series. “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” followed close behind with eight awards, including Outstanding Comedy Series, and “Saturday Night Live” also won eight awards.

Other notable moments of the night were Henry Winkler’s first Emmy win in his decades-long career for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for “Barry;” an appearance from Betty White and Glenn Weiss who used his win for Outstanding Directing for a Variety Special to propose to his girlfriend on stage.

The complete list of winners is below.

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
Brian Tyree Henry – “Atlanta” (FX)
Louie Anderson – “Baskets” (FX)
Kenan Thompson – “Saturday Night Live” (NBC)
Tituss Burgess – “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” (Netflix)
Henry Winkler – “Barry” (HBO) 
Alec Baldwin – “Saturday Night Live” (NBC)
Tony Shalhoub – “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” (Amazon)

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Zazie Beetz – “Atlanta” (FX)
Laurie Metcalf – “Roseanne” (ABC)
Leslie Jones – “Saturday Night Live” (NBC)
Alex Borstein – “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” (Amazon) 
Betty Gilpin – “GLOW” (Netflix)
Aidy Bryant – “Saturday Night Live” (NBC)
Kate McKinnon – “Saturday Night Live” (NBC)
Megan Mullally – “Will & Grace” (NBC)

Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series
Donald Glover – “Atlanta” (FX)
Stefani Robinson – “Atlanta” (FX)
Alec Berg, Bill Hader – “Barry” (HBO
Liz Sarnoff – “Barry” (HBO)
Alec Berg – “Silicon Valley” (HBO)
Amy Sherman-Palladino – “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” (Amazon)

Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series
Donald Glover – “Atlanta” (FX)
Hiro Murai – “Atlanta” (FX)
Bill Hader – “Barry” (HBO)
Mark Cendrowski – “The Big Bang Theory” (CBS)
Jesse Peretz – “GLOW” (Netflix)
Mike Judge – “Silicon Valley” (HBO)
Amy Sherman-Palladino – “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” (Amazon) 

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
Pamela Adlon – “Better Things” (FX)
Lily Tomlin – “Grace & Frankie” (Netflix)
Allison Janney – “Mom” (CBS)
Tracee Ellis Ross – “Black-ish” (ABC)
Issa Rae – “Insecure” (HBO)
Rachel Brosnahan – “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” (Amazon)

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
Anthony Anderson – “Black-ish”(ABC)
Ted Danson – “The Good Place” (NBC)
Larry David – “Curb Your Enthusiasm” (HBO)
Donald Glover – “Atlanta” (FX)
Bill Hader – “Barry” (HBO)
William H. Macy – “Shameless” (Showtime)

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie
Adina Porter – “American Horror Story: Cult” (FX)
Merritt Wever – “Godless” (Netflix)
Penelope Cruz – “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story” (FX)
Letitia Wright – “Black Museum” (“Black Mirror”) (Netflix)
Sara Bareilles – “Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert” (NBC)
Judith Light – “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story” (FX)

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie
Jeff Daniels – “Godless” (Netflix)
Ricky Martin – “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story” (FX)
Finn Wittrock – “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story” (FX)
John Leguizamo – “Waco” (Paramount Network)
Brandon Victor Dixon – “Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert” (NBC)
Edgar Ramirez – “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story” (FX)
Michael Stuhlbarg – “The Looming Tower” (Hulu)

Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series, Movie or Dramatic Special
Kevin McManus, Matthew McManus – “American Vandal” (Netflix)
Scott Frank – “Godless” (Netflix)
David Nicholls – “Patrick Melrose” (Showtime)
Tom Rob Smith – “The Assassination Of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story” (FX)
David Lynch, Mark Frost – “Twin Peaks” (Showtime)
William Bridges, Charlie Brooker – “USS Callister” (“Black Mirror”) (Netflix) 

Outstanding Directing for a Limited Series, Movie or Dramatic Special
Scott Frank – “Godless” (Netflix)
David Leveaux, Alex Rudzinski – “Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert” (NBC)
Barry Levinson – “Paterno” (HBO)
Edward Berger – “Patrick Melrose” (Showtime)
Ryan Murphy – “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story” (FX) 
Craig Zisk – “The Looming Tower” (Hulu)
David Lynch – “Twin Peaks” (Showtime)

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or a Movie
Jessica Biel – “The Sinner” (USA Network)
Laura Dern – “The Tale” (HBO)
Michelle Dockery – “Godless” (Netflix)
Edie Falco – “Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders” (NBC)
Regina King – “Seven Seconds” (Netflix)
Sarah Paulson – “American Horror Story: Cult” (FX)

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or a Movie
Antonio Banderas – “Genius: Picasso” (National Geographic)
Darren Criss – “Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story” (FX) 
Benedict Cumberbatch – “Patrick Melrose” (Showtime)
Jeff Daniels – “The Looming Tower” (Hulu)
John Legend – “Jesus Christ Superstar Live In Concert” (NBC)
Jesse Plemons – “USS Callister”/”Black Mirror” (Netflix)

Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special
Melinda Taub, Samantha Bee – “Full Frontal With Samantha Bee Presents: The Great American* Puerto Rico (*It’s Complicated)” (TBS)
John Mulaney – “John Mulaney: Kid Gorgeous At Radio City” (Netflix)
Michelle Wolf – “Michelle Wolf: Nice Lady” (HBO)
Patton Oswalt – “Patton Oswalt: Annihilation” (Netflix)
Steve Martin, Martin Short – “Steve Martin & Martin Short: An Evening You Will Forget For The Rest Of Your Life” (Netflix)

Outstanding Directing for a Variety Special
Stan Lathan – “Dave Chappelle: Equanimity” (Netflix)
Michael Bonfiglio – “Jerry Seinfeld: Jerry Before Seinfeld” (Netflix)
Marcus Raboy – “Steve Martin & Martin Short: An Evening You Will Forget For The Rest Of Your Life” (Netflix)
Hamish Hamilton – “Super Bowl LII Halftime Show Starring Justin Timberlake” (NBC)
Glenn Weiss – “The Oscars” (ABC) 

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau – “Game of Thrones” (HBO)
Mandy Patinkin – “Homeland” (Showtime)
Matt Smith – “The Crown” (Netflix)
Peter Dinklage – “Game of Thrones” (HBO)
David Harbour – “Stranger Things” (Netflix)
Joseph Fiennes – “The Handmaid’s Tale” (Hulu)

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Lena Headey – “Game of Thrones” (HBO)
Vanessa Kirby – “The Crown” (Netflix)
Ann Dowd – “The Handmaid’s Tale” (Hulu)
Thandie Newton – “Westworld” (HBO) 
Millie Bobby Brown – “Stranger Things” (Netflix)
Alexis Bledel – “The Handmaid’s Tale” (Hulu)
Yvonne Strahovski – “The Handmaid’s Tale” (Hulu)

Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series
David Benioff, D.B. Weiss – “Game of Thrones” (HBO)
Phoebe Waller-Bridge – “Killing Eve” (BBC America)
The Duffer Brothers – “Stranger Things” (Netfix)
Joe Fields, Joe Weisberg – “The Americans” (FX) 
Peter Morgan – “The Crown” (Neflix)
Bruce Miller – “The Handmaid’s Tale” (Hulu)

Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series
Alan Taylor – “Game of Thrones” (HBO)
Jeremy Podeswa – “Game of Thrones” (HBO)
Jason Bateman – “Ozark” (Netflix)
Daniel Sackheim – “Ozark” (Netflix)
The Duffer Brothers – “Stranger Things” (Netflix)
Stephen Daldry – “The Crown” (Netflix) 
Kari Skogland – “The Handmaid’s Tale” (Hulu)

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series
Jason Bateman – “Ozark” (Netflix)
Sterling K. Brown – “This Is Us” (NBC)
Ed Harris – “Westworld” (HBO)
Matthew Rhys – “The Americans” (FX)
Milo Ventimiglia – “This Is Us” (NBC)
Jeffrey Wright – “Westworld” (HBO)

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
Claire Foy – “The Crown” (Netflix) 

Tatiana Maslany – “Orphan Black” (BBC America)
Elisabeth Moss – “The Handmaid’s Tale” (Hulu)
Sandra Oh – “Killing Eve” (BBC America)
Keri Russell – “The Americans” (FX)
Evan Rachel Wood – “Westworld” (HBO)

Outstanding Reality Competition Program
“American Ninja Warrior” (NBC)
“Project Runway” (Lifetime)
“RuPaul’s Drag Race” (VH1) 
“The Amazing Race” (CBS)
“The Voice” (NBC)
“Top Chef” (Bravo)

Outstanding Variety Sketch Series
“At Home with Amy Sedaris” (TruTV)
“Drunk History” (Comedy Central)
“I Love You, America with Sarah Silverman” (Hulu)
“Portlandia” (IFC)
“Saturday Night Live” (NBC)
“The Tracey Ullman Show” (HBO)

Outstanding Variety Talk Series
“The Daily Show With Trevor Noah” (Comedy Central)
“Full Frontal With Samantha Bee” (TBS)
“Jimmy Kimmel Live!” (ABC)
“Last Week Tonight With John Oliver” (HBO)
“The Late Late Show With James Corden” (CBS)
“The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” (CBS)

Outstanding Limited Series
“Genius: Picasso” (National Geographic)
“Godless” (Netflix)
“Patrick Melrose” (Showtime)
“The Alienist” (TNT)
“The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story” (FX)

Outstanding Comedy Series
“Atlanta” (FX)
“Barry” (HBO)
“Black-ish” (ABC)
“Curb Your Enthusiasm” (HBO)
“GLOW” (Netflix)
“The Marvelous Ms. Maisel” (Amazon)
“Silicon Valley” (HBO)
“Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” (Netflix)

Outstanding Drama Series
“The Americans” (FX)
“The Crown” (Netflix)
“Game of Thrones” (HBO) 
“The Handmaid’s Tale” (Hulu)
“Stranger Things” (Netflix)
“This Is Us” (NBC)
“Westworld” (HBO)

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Photos

PHOTOS: Night of Champions

Team DC holds annual awards gala

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Team DC President Miguel Ayala speaks at the 2024 Night of Champions Awards on Saturday. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

Team DC, the umbrella organization for LGBTQ-friendly sports teams and leagues in the D.C. area, held its annual Night of Champions Awards Gala on Saturday, April 20 at the Hilton National Mall. The organization gave out scholarships to area LGBTQ student athletes as well as awards to the Different Drummers, Kelly Laczko of Duplex Diner, Stacy Smith of the Edmund Burke School, Bryan Frank of Triout, JC Adams of DCG Basketball and the DC Gay Flag Football League.

(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)

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PHOTOS: National Cannabis Festival

Annual event draws thousands to RFK

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Growers show their strains at The National Cannabis Festival on Saturday. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

The 2024 National Cannabis Festival was held at the Fields at RFK Stadium on April 19-20.

(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)

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Theater

‘Amm(i)gone’ explores family, queerness, and faith

A ‘fully autobiographical’ work from out artist Adil Mansoor

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Adil Mansoor in ‘Amm(i)gone’ at Woolly Mammoth Theatre. (Photo by Kitoko Chargois)

‘Amm(i)gone’
Thorough May 12
Woolly Mammoth Theatre
641 D St., N.W. 
$60-$70
Woollymammoth.net

“Fully and utterly autobiographical.” That’s how Adil Mansoor describes “Amm(i)gone,” his one-man work currently playing at Woolly Mammoth Theatre. 

Both created and performed by out artist Mansoor, it’s his story about inviting his Pakistani mother to translate Sophocles’s Greek tragedy “Antigone” into Urdu. Throughout the journey, there’s an exploration of family, queerness, and faith,as well as references to teachings from the Quran, and audio conversations with his Muslim mother. 

Mansoor, 38, grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and is now based in Pittsburgh where he’s a busy theater maker. He’s also the founding member of Pittsburgh’s Hatch Arts Collective and the former artistic director of Dreams of Hope, an LGBTQ youth arts organization.

WASHINGTON BLADE: What spurred you to create “Amm(i)gone”? 

ADIL MANSOOR: I was reading a translation of “Antigone” a few years back and found myself emotionally overwhelmed. A Theban princess buries her brother knowing it will cost her, her own life. It’s about a person for whom all aspirations are in the afterlife. And what does that do to the living when all of your hopes and dreams have to be reserved for the afterlife?

I found grant funding to pay my mom to do the translation. I wanted to engage in learning. I wanted to share theater but especially this ancient tragedy. My mother appreciated the characters were struggling between loving one another and their beliefs. 

BLADE: Are you more director than actor?

MANSOOR: I’m primarily a director with an MFA in directing from Carnegie Mellon. I wrote, directed, and performed in this show, and had been working on it for four years. I’ve done different versions including Zoom. Woolly’s is a new production with the same team who’ve been involved since the beginning. 

I love solo performance. I’ve produced and now teach solo performance and believe in its power. And I definitely lean toward “performance” and I haven’t “acted” since I was in college. I feel good on stage. I was a tour guide and do a lot of public speaking. I enjoy the attention. 

BLADE: Describe your mom. 

MANSOOR: My mom is a wonderfully devout Muslim, single mother, social worker who discovered my queerness on Google. And she prays for me. 

She and I are similar, the way we look at things, the way we laugh. But different too. And those are among the questions I ask in this show. Our relationship is both beautiful and complicated.

BLADE: So, you weren’t exactly hiding your sexuality? 

MANSOOR: In my mid-20s, I took time to talk with friends about our being queer with relation to our careers. My sexuality is essential to the work. As the artistic director at Dreams of Hope, part of the work was to model what it means to be public. If I’m in a room with queer and trans teenagers, part of what I’m doing is modeling queer adulthood. The way they see me in the world is part of what I’m putting out there. And I want that to be expansive and full. 

So much of my work involves fundraising and being a face in schools. Being out is about making safe space for queer young folks.

BLADE: Have you encountered much Islamophobia? 

MANSOOR: When 9/11 happened, I was a sophomore in high school, so yes. I faced a lot then and now. I’ve been egged on the street in the last four months. I see it in the classroom. It shows up in all sorts of ways. 

BLADE: What prompted you to lead your creative life in Pittsburgh? 

MANSOOR: I’ve been here for 14 years. I breathe with ease in Pittsburgh. The hills and the valleys and the rust of the city do something to me. It’s beautiful, it’ affordable, and there is support for local artists. There’s a lot of opportunity. 

Still, the plan was to move to New York in September of 2020 but that was cancelled. Then the pandemic showed me that I could live in Pittsburgh and still have a nationally viable career. 

BLADE: What are you trying to achieve with “Amm(i)gone”? 

MANSOOR: What I’m sharing in the show is so very specific but I hear people from other backgrounds say I totally see my mom in that. My partner is Catholic and we share so much in relation to this. 

 I hope the work is embracing the fullness of queerness and how means so many things. And I hope the show makes audiences want to call their parents or squeeze their partners.

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