Mj Rodriguez, Billy Porter, Kate McKinnon and RuPaul lead dazzlingly queer pack of Emmy nominees
Pose star Mj Rodrigues and drag icon RuPaul are among the many LGBT+ celebs up for Emmy Awards in 2021. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images for BET/Karwai Tang/WireImage)
The 2021 Emmy nominations are in, and this year’s awards are set to be one of the queerest yet with a host of LGBT+ nominees.
Netflix’s The Crown and Disney’s Star Wars spin-off The Mandalorian are in the lead for this year’s Emmy Awards with 24 nominations each. WandaVision follows close behind with 23 animations, with The Handmaid’s Tale and SNL hot on its heels with 21 apiece.
But Michaela Coel’s critically-acclaimed I May Destroy You is a serious Emmy Award contender. The show is in the running for Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series, and Coel has been nominated for Best Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie. Paapa Essiedu has been nominated for best supporting actor for his powerful performance as gay character Kwame.
RuPaul’s Drag Race is fighting to defend its Emmy supremacy. The hit show has been nominated for the Outstanding Competition Programme award, which the series has won every year since 2017. The show was also nominated for Outstanding Casting for a Reality Programme in the 2021 Emmy Awards.
RuPaul has been nominated for Best Host of a Reality/Competition series. If he wins this year, RuPaul will extend his record of five consecutive wins in the category.
Mj Rodriguez as Blanca in Pose. (BBC)
Pose star Mj Rodriguez earned her first Emmy Award nomination while also making history as the first trans actor to earn a nomination in a major acting category. She’s in the running for Best Lead Actress in a Drama Series.
Her co-star and fellow LGBT+ idol, Billy Porter, has been shortlisted for Best Lead Actor for his role as Pray Tell in Pose. The series itself will go up against The Crown, The Mandalorian and This is Us among others in the Outstanding Drama Category.
Several LGBT+ SNL stars are in the running for a variety of Emmy Awards. Bowen Yang will be competing for Best Supporting Actor in a comedy series, and Kate McKinnon is a candidate for the Supporting Actress award in the same genre. Dan Levy will be hopefully taking home the Best Guest Actor award for his short stint as an SNL host.
The Crown star Emma Corrin, who recently revealed their pronouns and binder journey, will battle against Rodriguez in the hopes to take home the Lead Actress in a Drama Series Emmy.
Comedian Cedric the Entertainer has been announced as this year’s host of the Emmy Awards, which is set to air on 19 September.
