Jeffrey Wright Jokes He Will Never Again Mock Critics While Honored at African American Film Critics Awards

On Wednesday night, the African American Film Critics Association honored the top actors, directors and films of the year at the 15th annual AAFCA Awards, in a Los Angeles ceremony hosted by Roy Wood Jr.

One of night’s top honors — which were announced in advance — went to American Fiction star Jeffrey Wright, who delivered a humorous speech about the debt actors owe to critics as he accepted the Legend Award.

“There is a line in The Dresser which, to my mind, is the film that best captures what it is to be an actor,” he began. “Albert Finney, playing this blustery, brilliant, Shakespearean actress, says these horrible words: ‘The critics. Hate the critics. I have nothing but compassion for them. How can one hate the crippled, the mentally deficient, and the dead?'”

“I’ve been changed,” Wright said to a response of thunderous laughter. “After this moment I will never again in my life roll on the floor laughing out loud at that line — critics are great!”

More laughs followed not long after as Wright paid homage to fellow honoree, director and playwright George C. Wolfe, who received AAFCA’s Legacy Award last night. “I love you George and you have been an absolute north star for me,” said the Oscar nominee as he held back tears. “Just ask him.”

Cord Jefferson, who made his directorial debut with American Fiction — which won awards for best comedy and best screenplay — struck a similar note about the importance of critics in accepting the honor of Emerging Filmmaker.

“What the critics helped us do with this film was shine a light on it early on. This is a small movie, we made it for significantly less than $10 million dollars. We shot it in 26 days, it does not have a huge marketing budget,” said Jefferson as he acknowledged Amazon, MGM, and Orion Pictures for their support. “We had a lot of critics, many of whom were African Americans, supporting this film right out of the gate and that really, really does go a long way.”

The event continued to be a night of shared flowers as each awardee paid homage to another, from Da’Vine Joy Randolph and Danielle Brooks — who shared the award for best supporting actress for their respective roles in The Holdovers and The Color Purple — to Origin’s Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor who, via a taped video acceptance speech for her best actress award, shared a love letter she wrote to director Ava DuVernay.

“Dear Ava, we often bemoan interruptions,” Ellis-Taylor read. “The paths we are on daily that soothe us and comfort us. Our rituals and routines, we dare not deviate from them.”

“And then you came crashing into my life, exploding modality and fear and putting me on a path of the unexpected and the breathtaking,” she continued. “My breathing body will only be a memory, but my gratitude for what you have made happen in my life, just like her brilliant work, will live as long as there are rituals like setting sons and art made from courageous hearts. Thank you to my tremendous, outstanding, brilliant director, and this wonderful organization that always encourages me.”

DuVernay took home the honor of best director and her film, Origin, won best drama. During both of her speeches, she turned the attention away from herself to shed a light on her presenters, Debbie Allen and Suzanne DePasse.

“Because she’s done all of these other things, we forget that this woman is one of the foremothers of Black directors, Black women directors, especially,” DuVernay said as she rattled off a list of Allen’s achievements. “She did it first; bravely, boldly, and beautifully.” Of DePasse, she later added after detailing her accolades in a similar manner, “This is an icon.”

Other films awarded by AAFCA included The Color Purple (best musical, best ensemble, best music), A Thousand and One (best independent feature), Stamped From The Beginning (best documentary), Io Capitano (best international film), The After (best short film), and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (best animated feature).

Additional award recipients included Colman Domingo, who was named best actor for his lead role in Rustin, and best supporting actor recipient Sterling K. Brown, who in his speech acknowledged the LGBTQ+ community for recognizing his portrayal of a newly out gay Black man in American Fiction.

“Thank you to the LGBTQ+ community for receiving this performance with the love which it was intended,” said Brown. “Hopefully, you were able to see yourselves to some extent within it because I know after 47 years of life on this planet, I most definitely see myself in you.”

One of the final awards of the night went to Lily Gladstone for breakout performance, which was presented to her by friend and fellow honoree Misty Copeland (after having received the Innovator Award earlier in the night). During her speech, Gladstone explained how her baby name, Glacier Lily, loosely translates to breakout as it means “a mother’s first love,” drawing parallels she later explained she’s always seen between her experience as an Indigenous woman and the African American community.

“I want to thank every artist in this room for making the kind of work that has made me feel me seen even if it’s not a lens directly pointed at the communities I grew up in,” she stated. “I feel seen by your work, I have been expanded because of your artistry. I’m so blessed to be here. Thank you all so much for what you do and let’s all keep moving forward and breaking down doors, breaking expectations, shattering stereotypes, and creating art.”