W. Kamau Bell Wins Emmy, Calls Out Industry For Inclusivity Hypocrisy & Champions Category Competitor Born This Way

W. Kamau Bell snapped up the Emmy for Outstanding Unstructured Reality Program for his show United Shades of America on Saturday night at the Creative Arts Emmys—his third consecutive win in this category.

Accepting the statuette up on stage, he took the opportunity to call out the industry for falling short on inclusivity. “White people,” He said, “Im asking you to bring more diversity and inclusion on these shows.”

Comedian Bell hosts the CNN docuseries, which explores race-based issues and subcultures across America.

Asked backstage what change he wanted to see, Bell said, “It feels like the same issues I saw with the first season of the show, where I had to work to get people of color behind the camera, Black people behind the camera. Its still not perfect; its still not great. So I feel like I have to not only call my team out, but I have to call the industry out.”

Bell pointed out that the issue goes way beyond what we see on television. “You talk about more diversity on screen,” he said. “I still sit in a lot of meetings where its mostly white dudes. Its not about white allies, its about white power brokers who want to be allies.”

Bell made it clear that, as a winner, he doesnt feel he can rest on his laurels. “If Im going to be about it, Ive got to talk about it,” he said, “and Ive got and really represent. Its not enough for me to get these awards and feel like, Yay, Im doing something. As any black person or person of color knows, we have to keep the door open for more people.”

Bell had also said in his acceptance speech that the industry was “full of s–t” for not giving more opportunity to Born This way, which was nominated in this same category. He said hed spoken to some people from that show on the red carpet before the awards and they had said they didnt expect to be back next year.

Bell sees this as hypocrisy on the part of the industry. “If this shows being nominated for all these things, and being shown as this change maker…Born This Way—it feels like these people have been nominated forRead More – Source