Much like the character she plays on Amazon’s “Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” Alex Borstein’s second consecutive Emmy Awards acceptance speech for supporting actress in a comedy was funny with an undercurrent of seriousness.
The actress, who plays the determined and opinionated manager Susie Myerson on the period drama, began her speech by referencing her win for the role last year – one she accepted bra-less. She joked that this time, she’d skipped her underwear and issued a warning to the cleaning crew that she’s quite sweaty.
Her speech took a turn when she then thanked both her mother and grandmother, both of whom are Holocaust survivors.
“My grandmother was in line to be shot into a pit,” Borstein told the audience. Because she asked a guard “what happens if I step out of line?” and he responded “I don’t have the heart to shoot you, but somebody will” – and then no one did – the actress said “I am here and my children are here.”
“So step out of line, ladies,” she told the audience. “Step out of line!”
