Abbott Elementary's Sheryl Lee Ralph had viewers in the audience and at home in tears on Monday as she sang her Emmy acceptance speech.
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The actress won best supporting actress in a comedy series for her work on the ABC comedy, created by Quinta Brunson, and she was speechless for minutes after her name was announced.
WATCH: Sheryl Lee Ralph sings
Frozen in shock, her husband and cast surrounded her with hugs until she was escorted to the stage.
There, she took a deep breath before she began to sing from Dianne Reeves' Endangered Species.
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"I am an endangered species, but I sing no victims' songs. I am a woman, I am an artist, and I know where voice belongs," she sang, leaving the audience shocked and silent.
Dianne is an American jazz singer, and the song was on her 1994 album Art & Survival.
Sheryl received a standing ovation
Sheryl then continued: "To anyone who has ever, ever had a dream and thought your dream couldn't come true, I am here to tell you this is what believing looks like.
"This is what striving looks like, and don't you ever ever give up on you, because if you get Quinta Brunson in your corner, if you get a husband like mine in your corner, children like mine in my corner and friends like everyone who voted for me... thank you."
"Sheryl Lee Ralph just gave the most moving acceptance speech in #Emmys history,' wrote one fan,as another shared: "Give Sheryl Lee Ralph a Tony for her Emmy acceptance speech, please and thank you."
It was Sheryl's first Emmy win
Abbott Elementary is an American mockumentary sitcom television series and stars Quinta as a second grade teacher at Abbott Elementary, a fictional predominantly Black school in Philadelphia.
The show has been a critical and ratings hit and was renewed for a second season.
The show was nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series at the 2022 Primetime Emmy Awards, with Quinta also nominated for best actress in a comedy series Brunson and Tyler James Williams was nominated for best supporting actor in a comedy series
