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This year's Emmy nominations feature diversity, firsts

"Pose" star Mj Rodriguez became the first trans performer to be nominated in a lead acting category.
Emmy Nominations - Mj Rodriguez
Posted at 7:06 PM, Jul 13, 2021
and last updated 2021-07-13 19:06:37-04

This year's Emmy's nominations were a year of diversity and firsts.

The 2021 nominations were announced on Tuesday, which featured a ground-breaking nomination, as "Pose" star Mj Rodriguez became the first trans performer to be nominated in a lead acting category.

"Michaela Jaé (Mj) Rodriguez's Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series is a breakthrough for transgender women in Hollywood, and a long-overdue recognition for her groundbreaking performance over the past three seasons of 'Pose,'" GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said on Twitter.

Rodriguez's nomination comes after the Emmy's announced last month that nominees and winners can choose to be called performers instead of actresses and actors at this year's awards ceremony.

This year's nominations also featured a first for Carl Weathers, who learned his first nomination at 73, the Associated Press reported.

Another first comes for HBO's "Lovecraft Country's" leads Jonathan Majors and Jurnee Smollett who are the first Black actors to be nominated in the lead acting category for the same drama series, the AP reported.