Laura’s Speech at SAG Awards Helps Lead the Conversation about Diversity

“Look at this stage,” Laura Prepon said while accepting the 2016 SAG Award for “Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble” on behalf of the cast of Orange Is the New Black. “This is what we talk about when we talk about diversity. Different race, color, creed, sexual orientation.”

“It’s a start but the problem starts before the Academy Awards,” OITNB cast member Selenis Leyva said. “The problem starts in the writing rooms, in the studios; the producers and directors and casting people need to open up their eyes that this is a different world we’re living in and diversity is not just black and white. Diversity is universal and it’s a lot more than what we are focusing on. It’s religions, it’s sexuality. So it doesn’t start at the Academy Awards. That’s not the solution. The solution starts before that.”

The diversity conversation has been raging this year since the announcement of this year’s Oscar nominees. The SAG Awards this year presented a far more different message in their awards by members to members.

The message was simple and too the point and is being echoed everywhere, not just in the entertainment press. Here are just a few of the headlines:

Entertainment Weekly: Orange is the New Black cast discusses diversity after win

USA Today: ‘OITNB’ stars celebrate diversity at the SAG Awards

Teen Vogue: This Was One of the Most Important Moments at the 2016 SAG Awards

E! Online: Orange Is the New Black Cast Praises Show’s Diversity During Best Comedy Ensemble Win at the 2016 SAG Awards

International Business Times: ‘Orange Is The New Black’ Star Laura Prepon Talks Diversity While Accepting Award

Variety: SAG Award Winners Reflect TV’s Imperative to Embrace Diversity

Deadline: SAG Award Winners 2016: “Ladies And Gentlemen, Welcome To Diverse TV”

ABC News: From SAG Awards to Sundance, Diversity Makes a Comeback

LA Times: SAG Awards 2016: Take that, Oscars—diversity’s the big winner tonight

OITNB Wins at the SAG Awards!
Laura Radio Interview at 95.5 PLJ in New York
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