Actress Patricia Arquette has used the 71st Emmy Awards to draw attention to the treatment of transgender people in the United States.
On stage to accept the award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie, Arquette honoured her late sister, Alexis, by highlighting the ongoing persecution of the trans community.
"I'm so sad I lost my sister Alexis and that trans people are still being persecuted..." She said, earning a standing ovation from the cast of FX series Pose and actress Laverne Cox.
"Let's get rid of this bias that we have everywhere," she continued.
"They're human beings and let's give them jobs."
She chronicled her transition and the process of her gender-affirmation surgery in the 2007 documentary Alexis Arquette: She's My Brother.
Laverne Cox also used her Emmys moment to send a political message, carrying a clutch which highlighted two upcoming Title VII sexual orientation discrimination cases.
The cases, to be seen by the Supreme Court on October 8, will determine whether Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, applies to cases based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
