Emma Watson Accepts First Ever Genderless Acting Award At 2017 MTV Movie & TV Awards

Published on May 8, 2017.

Photo by John Salangsang/BFA/REX/Shutterstock

Emma Watson is one of the most adored Hollywood stars of her generation, and of all her accomplishments at only 27-years-old, she has now made history.

At the 2017 MTV Movie & TV Awards, the beloved Beauty and the Beast actress accepted the award for Best Actor in a Movie, making her the first ever recipient of a genderless acting award.

Fans of the actress are well aware of her work outside of acting when it comes to feminism and working towards gender equality, which made her speech even more powerful when accepting the history-making award. “I feel I have to say something about the award itself,” she said. “The first acting award in history that doesn’t separate nominees based on their sex says something about how we perceive the human experience. MTV’s move to create a genderless award for acting will mean something different for everyone. But to me, it indicates that acting is about the ability to put yourself in someone else’s shoes. And that doesn’t need to be separated into two different categories.”

She continued, “Empathy and the ability to use your imagination should have no limits. This is very meaningful to me — both to be winning the award and to be receiving it from you… in such an inclusive, patient, loving way. Thank you so much.”