Yahya Abdul-Mateen II dedicates ‘Watchmen’ Emmy to ‘the Black women in my life’

“Watchmen� star Yahya Abdul-Mateen II delivered a speech as powerful as Doctor Manhattan himself while accepting the Emmy Award for supporting actor in a limited series on Sunday.

“I’m so excited right now,� the actor said via video from his home. “I want to say thank you, first off, to my mommy and my daddy. Man, I’m surprised! To my siblings, my squad, I love y’all. Y’all watching right now on Zoom, and I love y’all so much.

“I want to do a big shout-out to all of West Oakland, all of New Orleans, the Magnolia Projects. There’s a lot of people from where I’m from making a lot of noise right now, and I love y’all so much.�

Abdul-Mateen, who played the omniscient Doctor Manhattan in “Watchmen,� also acknowledged his fellow Emmy nominee and onscreen love interest, Regina King, “for being the best scene partner that I can ask for� — as well as other Black women who have supported him on his journey.

“‘Watchmen’ was a story about trauma,� he continued. “It was a story about the lasting scars of ... white domestic terrorism. ... It was a story about police corruption and brutality. But in the midst of it all, it was also a story about a god who came down to earth to reciprocate to a Black woman all the love that she deserved.

“He’d offer her sacrifices, support, passion, potential. And he did all that in the body of a Black man, and I’m so proud that I was able to walk into those shoes. So I dedicate this award to all the Black women in my life — the people who believed in me first. I call you my early investors. I love you. I appreciate you, and this one is for you. Thank you.�

Here are Abdul-Mateen’s full remarks.

“Thank you so much to the academy. I’m so excited right now. I want to say thank you, first off, to my mommy and my daddy. Man, I’m surprised! To my siblings, my squad, I love y’all. Y’all watching right now on Zoom, and I love y’all so much. I want to do a big shout-out to all of West Oakland, all of New Orleans, the Magnolia Projects. There’s a lot of people from where I’m from making a lot of noise right now, and I love y’all so much.

“Thank you so much to HBO — to [creator] Damon Lindelof — for your words, for your creativity. Thank you so much to [director Nikki Kassell] for taking care of me. For Regina, for being the best scene partner that I can ask for. ‘Watchmen’ was a story about trauma. It was a story about the lasting scars of white domestic violence — it was white domestic terrorism, pardon me. It was a story about police corruption and brutality.

“But in the midst of all, it was also a story about a god who came down to earth to reciprocate to a Black woman all the love that she deserved. He’d offer her sacrifices, support, passion, potential. And he did all that in the body of a Black man, and I’m so proud that I was able to walk into those shoes. So I dedicate this award to all the Black women in my life — the people who believed in me first. I call you my early investors. I love you. I appreciate you, and this one is for you. Thank you.�