When there wasn’t somewhat unnecessary displays of masculinity flying around on stage, the Oscars 2022 wasn’t just eventful, it was one of the most LGBTQ+ inclusive of all time with Ariana DeBose capping an incredible award season winning Best Supporting Actress for West Side Story.
The night started off pretty gay anyway with out lesbian comedian and host Wanda Sykes saying: “We’re going to have a great night tonight. And for you people in Florida, we’re going to have a gay night,” obviously directly mocking Florida’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill. Sykes’ fellow co-hosts Amy Schumer and Regina Hall immediately joined in, saying “gay, gay, gay” much to the amusement of Hollywood’s assembled glitterati.
The night belonged to Ariana however who is the first out, queer, woman of colour to win an acting Oscar and she made sure she used her time on stage wisely, saying: “Imagine this little girl in the back seat of a white Ford Focus. Look into her eyes, you see a queer, openly queer woman of colour and Afro-Latina who found her strength in life through art. And that’s what I believe we’re here to celebrate.”
She finished up her moving speech by invoking the lyrics to the song Somewhere from West Side Story: “To anybody who has ever questioned your identity ever, ever, ever or find yourself living in the gray spaces, I promise you this: There is indeed a place for us.”
Here she is doing some backstage interviews after that spectacular win. West Side Story is on Disney+ right now so give it a watch.