Taraji P Henson, 45, is happy that Viola Davis is the first African-American woman to win the award of Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series at the just held 67th Emmy Awards.
She said this during an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show today, Tuesday, September 22. Taraji admitted that as a nominee in the category herself, getting to hold that trophy onstage would have been a dream come true.
“It was bittersweet because we all want to make history and be important to society,” Henson said. “But then I was thinking about it, like, ‘It’s 2015. We have a black president and no black woman has ever won in this category. This is weird!’ So when I went into it I knew I was being nominated alongside Viola. I just thought, ‘God, please just give it to one of us so we’ll never have to say that again!’ Let’s just break this barrier down and keep on pushing.”
“I think the universe is happy.” “Viola deserved that reward, and, honestly, I would have felt weird if I had gotten it over her. She’s been doing it longer and you just have to give respect and know when your time is.”
Davis, 50, took home the award for her role on the ABC drama How to Get Away with Murder.
