Los Angeles [US], May 13 : American actor Lucy Liu was honoured with the Gold Legend Award at the third annual Gold House Gala in Los Angeles, reported Variety.
Liu gave a moving speech after receiving the award from Regina King. "What I love about Regina is that she always makes choices that are for her," Liu told the audience. "When I started over 30 years ago, there weren't a lot of choices that I could make for myself."
Liu is known for 'Ally McBeal', 'Elementary', 'Kill Bill Vol. 1', 'Charlie's Angels' and Steven Soderbergh's 'Presence'. She talked about having to make casting decisions "because of limitations."
She said, "I love that we are all here tonight because there is no ceiling, and I've never seen that for myself. I want us to all collectively understand how special this moment is that we are together as a community. I share this award with you because you have lifted me up, you have given me strength, you have made me so proud. I feel like it's been very lonely."
Liu admitted she first refused to receive the award, citing childhood trauma. She stated that she did not believe she was deserving or had earned it. When asked about her decision to accept the honour, Liu remarked, "I'm here because of this community."
The gala honoured the most influential Asians on the company's A100 list, which recognises the 100 AAPI individuals who have had a significant impact on American culture and society in the previous year.
The Gold Ally Award was presented to 'Wicked' star Erivo by Jon M. Chu and Michelle Yeoh. Before Erivo took the stage, Chu and Yeoh showed spectators a never-before-seen footage from the upcoming movie musical 'Wicked'.
During her acceptance speech, Erivo called on the audience to join forces and collaborate more on projects. Erivo, who plays Elphaba in "Wicked," shared her experience of connection to the audience.
"As a Black woman, of African heritage, the child of an immigrant, I find that there is this innate connection to my golden siblings," she said. "Our destinies are forged in the understanding that we have to overcome and defy the odds."
She added, "We are in search of the very best of ourselves, often at first for our parents, and then we learn to harness that power for ourselves. We have a kinship that is unspoken."
According to Variety, "Gold House co-founder Bing Chen closed the night by updating the audience on the company's initiative to build the Gold Bridge. Now in its second year, the metaphoric Gold Bridge is designed to bridge industry from content to commerce, bridge communities and bridge continents."
Chen said, "We are building the most helpful community with the smartest capital resources. We are getting there because we are cross-pollinating creative opportunities."
Chen closed out the night by telling the audience, "Remember, instead of begging for a seat at someone else's table, we now have the power across the arts of business to build on talking about this," reported Variety.
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