Jordan Peele Is First Black Writer to Win Oscar for Best Original Screenplay
Jordan Peele made history by being the first black nominee for the Oscars' big three: Best Picture, Best Director and Best Screenplay. With his Best Original Screenplay win for Get Out, he made history again, becoming the first black writer to win in the category.
"This means so much to me," Peele said while accepting the award. "I stopped writing this movie about 20 times because I thought it was impossible. I thought it wasn't going to work. I thought no one would ever make this movie. But I kept coming back to it, because I knew if someone let me make this movie, that people would hear it and people would see it."
"I want to dedicate this to all the people who raised my voice and let me make this movie," he continued. "To the cast and crew, I love you, thank you so much. My wife, who supported me through this whole process. My mother, who taught me to love even in the face of hate. And to everybody who went and saw this movie. Everybody who bought a ticket, who told somebody to buy a ticket, thank you. I love you for shouting out at the theater, for shouting out at the screen."
Later, the director tweeted from backstage, writing, "I just won an Oscar. WTF?!?" His wife, Chelsea Peretti, also tweeted a photo of him holding his statuette and envelope.