Michelle Williams Powerful Emmy Awards Speech Pleads For Pay Equality

Michelle Williams was a total boss at the 2019 Emmy Awards last night. Not only did she win the award for outstanding actress in a limited series for her work in Fosse/Verdon, but she used her speech to highlight the issues around equal pay in Hollywood.

"Thank you so much to FX and Fox 21 Studios for supporting me completely and paying me equally because they understood that when you put value into a person, it empowers that person to get in touch with their own inherent value," said Williams in her speech.

She went on to specifically address the systematic underpayment of women of color.

"So the next time a woman, and especially a woman of color, because she stands to make 52 cents on the dollar compared to her white male counterpart, tells you what she needs in order to do her job, listen to her, believe her."

During an interview in the press room following her win, Williams said that her success won't matter until the "larger message is heard."

"As I said before, there was this difficulty for me of white woman in a privileged industry. How difficult is it for women of color across all industries?" said Williams. "There really won't be any satisfaction for me until the larger message is heard, and that’s what I really wanted to point out tonight."

We love a queen who is using her platform and privilege to highlight these issues in a powerful way.