This year's Oscar category for Best Supporting Actor was stacked to high heavens, but one man walked away victorious at tonight's big event: Daniel Kaluuya. And true to form, he came through with yet another great acceptance speech, complete with a spur-of-the-moment shoutout that he'll probably have to clear up with his mum a bit later.
Kaluuya won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his stunning performance in frontrunner Judas and the Black Messiah. The British actor starred as Fred Hampton, the charismatic and beloved chairman of the Black Panther Party in Chicago, Illinois. The film follows the chairman's last days in the Party before his death at the hands of the FBI and informant William O'Neal (played by Lakeith Stanfield).
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The Bri has been a fan favorite since making his major Hollywood debut in Jordan Peele's Get Out, but over the past few years, his star has been slowly but steadily rising thanks to projects like Black Panther, Widows, and Queen & Slim. Judas and the Black Messiah ushered in his first big major award wins in the industry; the film has earned him a BAFTA, and a Golden Globe, and now an Oscar, and it's a huge deal.
“Bro, we out here!" began Kaluuya's acceptance speech. He went on to acknowledge the work of his co-stars Stanfield and Dominique Fishback, to the late Chairman Hampton, and his family — making sure to pay special thanks to his mom and dad, the only reason that he's even alive to win an Oscar to begin with.
"my mom, my dad. it's amazing. they had sex. i'm here." -daniel kaluuya with the greatest oscars acceptance speech ever
— Laura Bassett (@LEBassett) April 26, 2021
sorry but I have not moved on from this yet. the way Daniel’s mom is going to let him HEAR IT lolol I will be laughing about this for the rest of the show #Oscars pic.twitter.com/eBl8xEEHSq
— Kathleen Newman-Bremang (@KathleenNB) April 26, 2021
"My mum, my dad, they had sex, I'm here!" he exclaimed onstage. "That’s amazing!"
In the audience, Kaluuya's sister laughed nervously, their mum right beside her looking confused but happy for her son nonetheless.
"What's he going on about?" she mouthed from the balcony seats.
Mentioning his parents' sex lives was definitely a turn sparked by his sheer excitement, but even Daniel knows that he'll have some explaining to do later. In the press room following his speech, he admitted to being nervous about what his mum would say, but I have a feeling that Mama Kaluuya's reaction won't be that bad — her son just won his first Oscar after all!