Mj Rodriguez Reacts to Becoming the First Trans Golden Globe Winner

Long overdue, but certainly well-deserved, on Sunday, Mj Rodriguez became the first trans actor to win a Golden Globe.

Rodriguez took home the award for her role in Pose, in which she played housemother Blanca Evangelista.

“This is for the LGBTQAI, Black, Latina, Asian, the many multi, beautiful colors of the rainbow around the freaking world,” she said afterward on Instagram Live. “This is not just for me, this is for y’all. This is the door that opens for y’all, not me, for y’all. There are gonna be so many young individuals…that are going to be able to trail in and storm in through the door. This is for y’all.”

Rodriguez was also the first trans actress nominated for an Emmy for a lead role last summer, although she ultimately did not win. That nomination came a year after several Pose cast members spoke out about how none of the Black, trans actors who make up the backbone of the show were up for awards, while Billy Porter was.

“None of ya’ll can touch the fact that Mj Rodriguez is carrying this show on her back like Jesus on the road to Damascus with that cross!” Porter said at the time.

Rodriguez’s historical win comes at a strange time for the Globes — the show was not televised or streamed, and, as The Washington Post put it, was essentially “reduced to social media posts.” This was ultimately a result of accusations of racism and unethical practices plaguing the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which puts on the awards.

Despite not being able to watch the awards play out at home, fans took to Twitter to celebrate Mj’s win.

While the future of the Golden Globes is uncertain, what this means for representation and acknowledgment for the trans community will certainly remain.