9 Times the 2016 Emmys Celebrated Diversity

Jimmy addressed the issue head-on in his opening monologue, which skewered everything from Donald Trump to Dame Maggie Smith, with a quick quip: "The Emmys are so diverse this year, the Oscars are now telling people we're one of their closest friends. We're not, by the way."

Jill took home the award for outstanding directing in a comedy series for the Transparent episode "Man on the Land," and her speech was nothing short of inspiring. After referring to her experience as a director as "a privilege," she brought up how she's made an actual difference in the world by representing minority groups on TV. "When you take people of color, women, trans people, queer people, as the subjects of stories, you change the world," she said. "We found out. We found out." As if that wasn't amazing enough, she concluded by yelling out, "Topple the patriarchy!"

Alan and Aziz took home an outstanding writing for a comedy series win for their "Parents" episode in Master of None, which is all about their parents' struggle as immigrants in America. Although Aziz wasn't able to get a word in since they were confusingly played off, Alan didn't hold back with his speech. "Seventeen million Asian-Americans in this country, and there are 17 million Italian-Americans. They have The Godfather, Goodfellas, Rocky, The Sopranos; we got Long Duk Dong," he said, referencing the quirky character in Sixteen Candles. "So we got a long way to go, but I know we can get there. I believe in us, it's just gonna take a lot of hard work. Asian parents out there — if you could do me a favor — just a couple of you get your kids cameras instead of violins, we'll be all good."

Given that most of the nominees in recent award shows have been overwhelmingly white, it was a welcome change of pace to see two deserving actors of color take home Emmys. Both Courtney and Sterling won for their work in The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, which delivered quite a few trophies over the course of the night.

Jeffrey won the coveted lead actor in a comedy award for his moving work in Transparent, and he gave a wonderful shout-out to the transgender community in his acceptance speech. "Give transgender talent a chance," he implored Hollywood executives. "Give them auditions. Give them their story. Do that. I would not be unhappy if I were the last cisgender male to play a female transgender on television; we have work to do."

Regina's role as Terri LaCroix in American Crime was magic, so it came as no surprise that she won the outstanding supporting actress trophy. Of her second Emmy win with the anthology series, she said, "I am so proud of this show, to have the opportunity to promote stories that promote conversation, necessary conversation."

Not only was Rami Malek's win for his role as Elliot in Mr. Robot profoundly deserved, but it was history-making. His win marks the first time the Emmys has had a nonwhite best actor in a drama in 18 years since Andre Braugher won for Homicide: Life on the Street in 1998. "I play a young man who is, like so many of us, profoundly alienated,” the Egyptian actor said during his acceptance speech. "I want to honor the Elliots. There’s a little bit of Elliot in all of us."

After taking the stage to present the award for outstanding writing for a variety special, Aziz finally got his moment to thank his parents and to let his feelings about Donald Trump be known. "After careful consideration, I've decided I'm going with Trump," he joked. "That's why I'm recommending that we get rid of all Muslim and Hispanic nominees from the ceremony immediately . . . wow, this would be so much easier if we were at the Oscars."

The Orphan Black actress finally won an award for her work on the sci-fi show, and she made sure to call out how female-focused it is, saying, "I feel so lucky to be on a show that puts women at the center." In an industry dominated by men, it was a truly beautiful moment.