Stranger Things pulled the rug from under Game of Thrones, Downton Abbey, and Westworld at the Screen Actors Guild awards last night to win the award for best ensemble cast. And while there’s a lot to love about the cast’s reactions to the win—especially Winona Ryder’s—it’s David Harbour’s powerful acceptance speech that’s worth watching.
As voices across the world cry out this past weekend against the implementation of Donald Trump’s heinous executive order barring refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S., Harbour—who played Police Chief Hopper in the show—used the show’s acceptance speech to lend his voice to the chorus, championing Stranger Things’ own messages of tolerance, understanding, and protecting those who can’t protect themselves:
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. Now, as we act in the continuing narrative of Stranger Things, we 1983 Midwesterners will repel bullies; we will shelter freaks and outcasts, those who have no home; we will get past the lies; we will hunt monsters; and when we are lost amidst the hypocrisy and casual violence of certain individuals and institutions, we will — as per Chief Jim Hopper — punch some people in the face when they seek to destroy the meek, the disenfranchised and the marginalized, and we will do it all with soul, with heart and with joy. We thank you for this responsibility.
It’s an emotional speech—and not the only one of the night you should check out. Given the bleak context events in the U.S. over the past few days, it’s a message that’s important to hear, now more than ever.