A star actor gruesomely smeared his face with blood and took to the red carpet at the Emmys last night.
D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, star of acclaimed show Reservation Dogs, made a powerful political statement at the 2024 Emmy Awards, walking the red carpet with a red handprint painted over his face.
The 22-year-old actor was one of the few celebrities at the major award ceremony to make a bold political statement on the red carpet. The young Canadian star was photographed in a classic black suit with a bright red bloody handprint painted over his mouth which is a symbol of solidarity with the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) movement in North America.
This handprint is in recognition of all of the thousands of women that have been silenced and the harrowing fact that Native American women are up to 10 times more likely to be murdered or sexually assaulted. The root cause of this injustice stems from a number of factors including colonisation and historical trauma, racism, and sexual objectification of Indigenous women.
The bold statement comes as Woon-A-Tai was nominated for Best Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for his iconic role in FX's 'Reservation Dogs ' as the character Bear Smallhill. Woon-A-Tai is competing in the category against Larry David from Curb Your Enthusiasm, Martin Short from Only Murders in the Building, and Matt Berry from What We Do in the Shadows, reports the Mirror US.
Woon-A-Tai makes a stand for Indigenous women amidst working with an all-Indigenous cast and crew on 'Reservation Dogs'. The hit series showcases the day-to-day lives of four Indigenous teenagers in rural Oklahoma.
In a recent chat with Deadline, he opened up about his response to the Emmy nod, expressing disappointment over being snubbed for two seasons: "We're one of only a few Native shows ever to accomplish what we have accomplished. So even if I wasn't on the show, I would feel the same way... we were overlooked for both Season 1 and Season 2, which I felt like were amazing. The cast and crew put their hearts into it. It was something that people have never seen before. So yes, we had our little conversations about getting snubbed, but I'm happy the voters are recognising how great the show was."
