Regina King used her spotlight at tonight’s Emmy Awards to pay tribute to Breonna Taylor and the Black Lives Matter movement. Rather than donning a dazzling gown or kicking back in a cozy pair of pyjamas while accepting her award, King wore a T-shirt emblazoned with the words “SAY HER NAME” and a photo of Taylor whose death at the hands of police sparked widespread protests. King paired the statement-making shirt with a hot pink suit by Schiaparelli Couture.
King first promoted the T-shirt in August on Instagram. The shirt was created in partnership with the Breonna Taylor Foundation by Phenomenal Woman, an organisation that brings awareness to social issues. All of the profits from the style, that is currently sold out but can be pre-ordered, are donated to the Breonna Taylor Foundation.
AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT
“It’s been 150 days since Breonna Taylor was murdered in her sleep by Jonathan Mattingly, Brett Hankison, and Myles Cosgrove – and her killers have not been charged,” King wrote on Instagram in August. “Too often Black women who die from police violence are often forgotten.”
Joining King in honouring Taylor, Uzo Aduba also wore a shirt with her name emblazoned across the front while accepting the award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie for her role in Mrs. America.
Prior to accepting the award, King and her styling team Wayman Bannerman and Micah McDonald did a stunning photoshoot that showed King wearing a red carpet-worthy dress posted to her Instagram. The show-stopping blue dress is another piece by Schiaparelli Couture by Daniel Roseberry. The ballgown came from the designer’s Spring Summer 2020 collection.
This year, King was nominated Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series for her role in HBO’s Watchmen which addressed racism that pervades the police force. The show also sheds light on the Tulsa massacre, a tragic incident that took place in 1921 when a mob of white residents attacked Black residents and businesses in the Greenwood District of Tulsa, Oklahoma.