SAG Awards 2017: Stars slam President Trump’s immigration ban at ceremony filled with surprise winners

Outrage against President Trump's new immigration ban took center stage at the Screen Actors Guild Awards — even though the ceremony was full of shocking upsets and surprise winners.

Ashton Kutcher, the night’s first presenter, set the tone at the start of Sunday’s show by welcoming "everyone in airports that belong in my America” — a clear reference to Trump's law barring the citizens of seven predominantly Muslim nations from entering the country.

Moments later, Julia Louis-Dreyfusslammed the banas “completely un-American.”

"I'm an American patriot. And I love this country. And because I love this country, I am horrified by its blemishes," Louis-Dreyfus, the night's first winner, said after earning outstanding actress in a comedy series honors for “Veep.” "This immigrant ban is a blemish."

But it was Mahershala Ali of “Moonlight” and David Harbour of “Stranger Things” who delivered the most rousing, politically charged speeches of the night.

Ali — whose film “Moonlight” centers on an African-American boy trying to find himself while growing up in a rough Miami neighborhood — shared a deeply personal anecdoteto highlight the importance of overcoming persecution and accepting everyone, regardless of their background.

 

"My mother is an ordained minister. I'm a Muslim," Ali said after winning best supporting actor. "She didn't do backflips when I called her 17 years ago to tell her I converted. But I tell you now, you put things to the side … The love has grown, and that stuff is minutia. It's not that important."

Harbour, meanwhile, earned abooming roar of approvalfrom the audience as he proclaimed, “We are united in that we are all human beings, and we are all together on this horrible, painful, joyous, exciting and mysterious ride that is being alive.”

While political commentary commanded the spotlight early, the night’s biggest winnersdidn’t go according to script.

“Hidden Figures” — the true story of three African-American female employees in the 1960s who played instrumental roles in a NASA launch — beat out frontrunners “Moonlight” and “Manchester by the Sea” to win outstanding performance by an ensemble in a motion picture — the SAG Awards’ highest honor.

Denzel Washington (“Fences”), meanwhile, pulled off perhaps the biggest upset of the night in emerging victorious over pre-show favorites Casey Affleck (“Manchester by the Sea”) and Ryan Gosling (“La La Land") to win the coveted outstanding actor trophy.

 

Surprisingly, “Manchester by the Sea” didn’t win a single award after leading the field with four SAG nominations.

“Stranger Things” rounded out the unexpected winners in taking home the award for outstanding performance by an ensemble in a drama series.

Emma Stone, who earned outstanding actress honors Sunday, was the only winner from “La La Land,” which won each of the seven categories it was nominated for at the Golden Globes three weeks ago. The red-hot movie musical, which only earned two nominations for Sunday's show, is up for a record-tying 14 nominations at next month’s Academy Awards.

 

The upsets at Sunday’s show add a little more drama heading into the Oscars, as the SAG Awards often prove to be a solid indicator for winners at the Academy Awards. Last year’s SAG winners for best actor, best actress and best ensemble cast, for example, won the equivalent awards at the Oscars.

Some portions of Sunday’s SAG Awards — which are voted upon by the actors themselves through their Screen Actors Guild memberships — did match expectations.