In accepting an award on Thursday, out
writer-actor Lena Waithe called for unity in the LGBT community.
At the 29th annual GLAAD
Media Awards in Los Angeles, Waithe won in the Outstanding Individual
Episode category for Master of None. Waithe wrote the
episode, titled Thanksgiving, with Aziz Ansari, the show's
star. In the episode, Waithe's character is seen growing into her
sexuality over the course of twenty Thanksgiving celebrations.
"A lot of people ask me why I say
I’m queer. I say that because I think it’s a big umbrella. I
don’t want to separate myself from my trans family, my nonbinary,
bisexual [family]," Waithe said in accepting her award. "I
feel like sometimes we can be a little segregated, you know what I
mean? We need to be united. Laverne Cox’s struggle may look
different than mine, but the pain we feel is the same."
(Related: In
accepting award, Britney Spears thanks LGBT community for
“unconditional love.”)
"We’re already othered, so why
should we other ourselves anymore than we already are? We have to
educate each other on our own individual journeys, because at the end
of the day, we’re all we’ve got. So let’s hold on to that, and
let’s hold on to each other. We’ve got to be one big family."
“When we stand together, there’s no
weapon they can form that can harm us," she
added.
Halle Berry presented the award to
Waithe.