Emma Stone was not afraid to spill the tea while attending the Palm Springs Film Awards on Thursday, Jan. 4.
After winning the Desert Palm Achievement Award for best actress for her Poor Things performance, Stone took the stage and reflected on her time in the entertainment business.
“I’m grateful that I get to keep trying new things and for the opportunity to make choices when it comes to work because I know how rare and fleeting it can be to choose what you want to do, or who you want to work with, as an actor,” she said, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
“I was not always sure that that would be the case, because when I first moved to L.A., I went to one of those general meetings that they sometimes send you to. An executive told me that for male actors, it’s a marathon, not a sprint, and in his eyes, for women, it was a sprint, not a marathon.”
The actress went on to say that she received that so-called "advice" 20 years ago and has since "realized" that it is "total garbage."
"The majority of the women that I look up to in this industry, many of whom are in this room, have proven that as time goes on, life and work only get more interesting and more fulfilling,” she added and to a round of applause from the crowd.
Stone also said that her role in Poor Things gave her the opportunity to play a "woman who is immune to external expectations and impervious to judgment and shame."
"Playing Bella was challenging because I had to try to unlearn those aspects in myself, and it also made her an absolute joy to play," she continued. "To make this film has been a highlight of my life, mainly thanks to a true creative soulmate,” Stone said, referring to the film's director, Yorgos Lanthimos.
Stone concluded her moving speech by telling the crowd that she hopes "for many more years of the chance to take swings and to try new things and keep this marathon going."
Take that, unnamed sexist studio executive!
