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Home • Emmys

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II Dedicates First Emmy Award To 'All The Black Women In My Life'

The actor seemed genuinely shocked by the honor.
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II Dedicates First Emmy Award To 'All The Black Women In My Life'
BEVERLY HILLS, CA – FEBRUARY 24: Yahya Abdul-Mateen II attends the 2019 Vanity Fair Oscar Party hosted by Radhika Jones at Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on February 24, 2019 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images)
By Joi-Marie McKenzie · Updated November 4, 2020
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Watchmen star Yahya Abdul-Mateen II looked astonished when he virtually accepted his first-ever Emmy Award for his role in the hit HBO series.

Abdul-Mateen II, wearing a black and white pinstriped suit, uttered to the camera, “I’m surprised,” as he pressed through his acceptance speech. He won the award for supporting actor in a limited series.

In Watchmen, the actor portrayed two roles — the loving husband Cal Abar and the stoic yet supernatural Dr. Manhattan — in the superhero drama that begins at the Tulsa Riots.

In his speech, Abdul-Mateen II described his character as a man “who came down to Earth to reciprocate to a Black woman all the love she deserved.”

“I’m so proud that I was able to walk into those shoes,” he added.

"I dedicate this award to all the Black women in my life. The people who believed in my first." @yahya wins #Emmy for supporting actor in limited series or movie for his role in @Watchmen. https://t.co/Lvq117xzZ6 #Emmys pic.twitter.com/Fo9dRIoV0K

— Good Morning America (@GMA) September 21, 2020

Abdul-Mateen II concluded his speech by dedicating the award “to all the Black women in my life; the people who believed in my first. I call ‘yall my early investors.”

Congrats!

TOPICS:  awards season celebrity emmys Entertainment watchmen Yahya Abdul-Mateen II