Kerry Washington Gives Brilliant and Moving GLAAD Awards Acceptance Speech

"I think some stuff needs to be said."

Kerry Washington delivering a speech.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Kerry Washington brought down the house on Saturday as she accepted the Vanguard Award at the 2015 GLAAD Media Awards, thanks to a powerful, timely, and poignant speech.

The Vanguard Award honors a member of the entertainment community who has made a significant difference in promoting equal rights for LGBT people, and Washington didn't let the opportunity pass to open up about the state of entertainment today. "On Monday morning, people are going to click a link to hear what that woman from Scandal said at the awards show, and so, I think some stuff needs to be said," she began, before launching into a gripping speech—calling for entertainment to be more inclusive to all communities and for those who fall into those same communities to be understanding that no one loses when another makes a step forward.

"Women, poor people, people of color, people with disabilities, immigrants, gay men, lesbians, bisexuals, trans people, intersex people...have been pitted against each other and made to feel like there are limited seats at the table for those of us who fall into the category of 'other,'" she stated.

"There is so much power in storytelling. And there is so enormous power in inclusive storytelling."

Watch the full speech here:

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Samantha Leal
Senior Editor

Samantha Leal is the Deputy Editor at Well+Good, where she spends most of her day thinking of new ideas across platforms, bringing on new writers, overseeing the day-to-day of the website, and working with the awesome team to produce the best stories and packages. Before W+G, she was the Senior Web Editor for Marie Claire and the Deputy Editor for Latina.com, with bylines all over the internet. Graduating from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University with a minor in African history, she’s written everything from travel guides to political op-eds to wine explainers (currently enrolled in the WSET program) to celebrity profiles. Find her online pretty much everywhere @samanthajoleal.