‘Empathy should have no limits’: Emma Watson wins first ‘gender free’ Best Actor In a Movie category at MTV Movie TV Awards
Watson, 27, praised MTV for holding ‘gender-less’ awards as she collected her trophy for BelleDisney’s Beauty And The Beast also won Movie Of The Year Netflix series Stranger Things won Show Of The year with Millie Bobby Brown winning the award for Best Actor In A Show Best Kiss went to Ashton Sanders and Jharrel Jerome for MoonlightTaraji P. Henson collected an award for Hidden Figures and told the crowd: ‘God is very clever. He made us all different for a reason and we better figure it out’The Fast And The Furious franchise was honored with MTV’s Generation Award, with Vin Diesel paying tribute to his late co-star Paul WalkerNBC’s This Is Us won the Tearjerker Award while The Daily Show’s Trevor Noah was named Best Host
Emma Watson was the first big winner at Sunday night’s MTV Movie TV Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday night.
And in a historical departure, both men and women were featured as nominees in the category for Best Actor In A Movie with ‘non-binary’ actor Asia Kate Dillon from Billions announcing the recipient of the Golden Popcorn trophy.
Watson won for her performance as Belle in Beauty And The Beast and she praised MTV for moving towards a gender-less awards show.
Scroll down for video
Emotional: Emma Watson won the first MTV Movie Award of the night in the first ceremony that didn’t separate nominees based on gender
‘The first acting award in history that doesn’t separate nominees based on their Sєx says something about how we perceive the human experience,’ the actress, 27, said.
The former Harry Potter star went on: ‘Acting is about the ability to put yourself into someone else’s shoes and that doesn’t have to be separated into two different categories.’
‘Empathy and the ability to use your imagination should have no limits.’
Meaningful moment: Watson received her Best Actor In a Movie Award for Beauty And The Beast from ‘non-binary’ actor Asia Kate Dillon, who stars on Showtimes Billions
Momentous occasion: ‘The first acting award in history that doesn’t separate nominees based on their Sєx says something about how we perceive the human experience,’ the actress, 27, said
Stylish: The pretty actress wore her hair up and rocked one earring by Forevermark, a black and silver mini dress that had one sleeve and paired semi sheer panels with large statement sequins
Had things to say: ‘I’m so proud to be a part of a film that celebrates diversity, literacy, inclusion, joy, and love the way that this one does,’ Watson said of winning her Golden Popcorn trophy for Belle
The former Harry Potter star also thanked Dillon for ‘educating’ her and went on to explain how the live action Disney feature promoted inclusivity.
‘The villagers in our fairy tale wanted to make Belle believe that the world was smaller than the way she saw it with fewer opportunities for her, that her curiosity and pᴀssion for knowledge and her desire fore more in life were grounds for alienation,’ she said.
‘I loved playing someone who didn’t listen to any of that. I’m so proud to be a part of a film that celebrates diversity, literacy, inclusion, joy, and love the way that this one does,’ Watson concluded.
Another big win: Watson returned to the stage later in the night with her Beauty And The Beast co-star Josh Gad after the live action Disney film was named Movie Of The Year
He’s the man: The movie’s director Bill Condon also came on stage and he thanked everyone who had supported the film, especially the female moviegoers
Winning: The trio clearly had a great time as the center of attention
Emma wasn’t the only one to pick up on the fact MTV had rid itself of gender for its annual awards ceremony, as Good Morning Britain host Piers Morgan addressed the network’s groundbreaking decision.
He was keen to spark a debate about the gender-neutral awards and said on the ITV breakfast show: ‘Gender neutral awards – just what the world was craving.
‘I can’t think of a better recipient than Emma Watson, a great flag-bearer to all things gender neutral.
‘Do we need to have men and women?’ he questioned. ‘Shall we call you woes? Woe is me. You become woes.’
He continued: ‘We can’t become men obviously, we become persons and everything becomes gender neutral.
‘Eventually I will smash my head repeatedly into a brick wall – which is of course a great crowd pleaser.’
Causing a stir: Piers Morgan was keen to spark a debate about the gender-neutral awards after witnessing Emma’s acceptance speech, he remarked: ‘Gender neutral awards – just what the world was craving’
