Niecy Nash-Bettsbrought the house down at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles when she delivered a moving speech as she accepted the Emmy Award for Supporting Actress in a Limited Anthology Series for her work inRyan MurphyandIan Brennan’sMonster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story. The actress, who also received a Critics’ Choice Television Award for her role as Glenda Cleveland, gave a heartfelt thank you to the show’s creators and her co-star,Evan Peterswho appeared in the titular role. From there, the speech’s power only continued to grow as Nash-Betts recognized her wife,Jessica Bettsfor her undying support during her lowest times.
Taking a moment to applaud the person who really got her onto the stage of television’s most prestigious night, Nash-Betts said, “I want to thank me, for believing in me!” adding, “And I want to say to myself in front of all you beautiful people, ’Go on girl with your bad self! You did that!’” Completely eating up the sentiment, the room burst into applause and laughter, leading Nash-Betts into the end and most poignant part of her speech. In her final moments, before being played off byAnthony Anderson’s mom, the actress took her time addressing the over-policing of women of color and the under-service of communities of color, honoringSandra BlandandBreonna Taylor. Before departing the stage, she gave one last thanks to her mother, leaving the audience — and all of us at home — inspired by her words.
Nash-Betts’s speech directly ties intoher role inMonster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Storyas her character,Glenda Cleveland, was a woman from an over-policed and under-served communityin Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Cleveland lived in the same apartment building that the notorious serial killer, Jeffrey Dahmer (Peters) called home, and phoned the police to alert them of a suspicious situation happening between her neighbor and a young Filipino boy who appeared to be drugged. The cops would ultimately shrug off Cleveland’s worries,throwing the victim backinto the hands of the man who would kill him later that night. This would be one ofmany times Cleveland reported strange activity in the building only to receive no help from law enforcement.
‘Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story’ Raised the Voices Of the Victims
While the first season of the anthology series told the horrific tale of the man known as The Milwaukee Cannibal, it also focused on the stories of the lives that he took and those, like Cleveland, whom he affected in horrendous ways. The show managed to not only tell the horrific stories of men who found themselves drugged, trapped, and killed by Dahmer but also paint a picture of who these victims were and the friends and family they left behind. As for Cleveland, the creative team did a terrific job depicting the hellscape that she and the rest of her underserved community were living in—with Nash-Betts’s performance carrying the emotion home.
Monsterwill return for a second seasonlater this year and will follow the murders committed byLyleandErik Menéndez,better known as the Menéndez brothers. For now, you can catch every episode ofMonster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Storyon Netflix. Watch Nash’s speech below:
Dahmer - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story
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