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Screen Actors Guild Awards

6 things you should know happened at the SAG Awards

Patrick Ryan
USA TODAY
Denzel Washington accepts outstanding actor for his role in 'Fences' at Sunday's SAG Awards.

Diversity was celebrated and Donald Trump was denounced at Sunday's Screen Actors Guild Awards. Here are the major moments you might have missed:

1. Hidden Figures, Denzel Washington pull off upsets. The night was full of surprise wins, with Shameless star William H. Macy taking outstanding comedy series actor over Transparent's Jeffrey Tambor and Netflix's Stranger Things clinching best TV drama ensemble (more on that later). But two of the ceremony's biggest shockers came at the end of the telecast, as Fences' Denzel Washington won his first SAG Award for outstanding actor in a leading role after three previous nominations in the category, while the cast of Hidden Figures upset in outstanding ensemble, besting presumed front-runner Moonlight.

'Hidden Figures,' 'Stranger Things' win big at Screen Actors Guild Awards

2. Winner after winner, actors respond to Trump's controversial immigration ban. In light of President Trump's temporary ban on immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries and halt to the U.S. refugee program, many actors used the podium as an opportunity to voice their political opinions. Veep's Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Orange Is the New Black's Taylor Schilling each shared stories about their immigrant families coming to the USA, while La La Land's Emma Stone and Hidden Figures' Taraji P. Henson called for unity through art. "This (movie) is about what happens when we put our differences aside and come together as a human race," Henson said. "We win. Love wins, every time."

Hollywood bashes Trump's immigration ban at SAG Awards

3. Mahershala Ali delivers an emotional speech about acceptance and being Muslim. The most moving speech of the night came courtesy of Ali, who won outstanding supporting actor for gay coming-of-age drama Moonlight. Teary-eyed, the breakout star recalled the moment he told his mother — an ordained minister — that he had converted to Islam. "She didn't do backflips when I called her to tell her," he said. "But I tell you now, we put things to the side, and I'm able to see her. She's able to see me. We love each other. The love has grown, and that stuff is minutiae."

Mahershala Ali delivers moving speech about acceptance at SAG Awards

4. Winona Ryder goes viral with her bewildered reactions to Stranger Things' win. The Netflix thriller made off with a surprise honor for outstanding drama series ensemble, besting other popular hits including Game of Thrones, The Crown and the final season of Downton Abbey. But it was Ryder's myriad of expressions as she took the stage that stole the show, particularly her puzzled faces as co-star David Harbour gave an impassioned speech about tolerance. Stills and GIFs of the actress' hilarious expressions flooded Twitter within minutes, with one user already calling them the "meme of the year."

See all of Winona Ryder's wild facial expressions at the SAG Awards

5. "Greetings from Dollywood, Hollywood!" No one had more fun at the SAG Awards than Dolly Parton, who was welcomed with a standing ovation as she presented the Life Achievement award to her 9 to 5 co-star Lily Tomlin. Tomlin "is receiving an award I've spent my whole life trying to avoid — 'Sag' award?" Parton joked, adding that if she sees any part of her body sagging, "I'm going to get that nipped, tucked and sucked right away." Amid multiple references to her busty figure, the country icon also teased a sequel to her 1980 comedy 9 to 5 with original stars Tomlin and Jane Fonda. “People have wanted a sequel to 9 to 5. We better get after it or we'll have to call it 95,” Parton said.

The best jokes from Lily Tomlin's SAG speech (and Dolly Parton's intro)

6. Lily Tomlin jokes about Oprah, Meryl Streep in rambling speech. The Grace and Frankie star earned the biggest laughs of the night with her long-winded, off-kilter and heartfelt remarks as she accepted her Life Achievement honor. When she wasn't offering sage "advice" to young actors — wear sunscreen, don't leave the house drunk — the 77-year-old actress managed quips about spiritual lessons ("I must say, watching Oprah really helped") and regrets ("Meryl is laughing at this and there’s absolutely no time she’s been a failure").

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