Viola Davis wins Best Supporting Actress | 89th Oscars (2017)

[Applause] it would be curious if this category was for best performance by an actress in an opposing role and yet the the brilliant work of these five superb actresses reminded me that with a child or with an adult sometimes the most supportive thing is to oppose oppositions great in films and stories it's wonderful in sports who wants a weak opponent in a sports match it's really good in society the thing these films made me remember and think about was the difficulty something that women seem to be better at than men of opposing without hatred so

here are the nominees for performance by an actress in a supporting role Viola Davis fences Naomi Harris moonlight Nicole Kidman lion [Applause] Octavia Spencer hidden figures Michelle Williams Manchester by the sea [Applause] and the Oscar goes to Viola Davis [Music] this is the first Oscar and third nomination for Biola Davis she was previously nominated in this category for doubt and for her leading role in the health [Music] foreign thank you to the academy you know there's one place that all the people with the greatest potential are gathered one place and that's the graveyard people ask

me all the time what kind of stories do you want to tell viola and I say exhume those bodies exhume those stories the stories of the people who dreamed big and never saw those dreams to fruition people who fell in love and lost I became an artist and thank God I did because we are the only profession that celebrates what it means to live a life foreign who exhumed and exalted The Ordinary People and to Braun picture his Paramount macro Todd Black Molly Allen Scott Rudin for being the cheerleaders for a movie that is about

people and words and life and forgiveness and Grace and to Michael T Williamson Stephen McKinley Henderson Russell Hornsby Giovanna deposaniah Cindy for being the most wonderful artist I've ever worked with and Oh Captain My Captain Denzel Washington [Applause] thank you for putting two entities in the driving seat August and God and they served you well and to Dan and may Alice Davis who were this and are the Center of My Universe the people who taught me good or bad how to fail how to love how to hold the Lord how to lose my parents I'm

so thankful that God chose you bring me into this world to my sisters my sister Dolores who's here who played jaji and Jaja with me we were rich white women in the tea party games thank you thank you for the imagination and to my husband and my daughter my heart you and Genesis you teach me every day how to live how to love I'm so glad that you are the foundation of my life thank you to the academy thank you [Applause]