The woman who brought “a baby… in a bar” in Sweet Home Alabama knows a thing or two about childcare—and how limiting life can be without it. In her acceptance speech for best actress in a drama series for her role in Showtime’s Yellowjackets, Melanie Lynksey thanked not only her husband, Jason Ritter and daughter for supporting her, but also her nanny, Celli.
“The most important person I think I have to thank before I finish is my nanny, Celli. I love her,” she said. “She’s an absolute angel. She’s with my child and my child is safe and taken care of and she allows me to go and do my work,” she added. “Thank you, Celli. I love you so much.”
Thanking the NANNY is the biggest female empowerment boss movie I've ever heard in an awards speech. Of course @melanielynskey is the one to do it! #CriticsChoiceAwards
— Teri Hart (@TeriHart) March 14, 2022
Lynskey’s earnest acceptance speech resonated, setting social media—not to mention acceptance speech norms—on fire. It left viewers wondering if anyone, ever, had acknowledged the role of their children’s caretakers from a position of success and power, and it set the bar sky-high for the future of acceptance speeches (and thank-you notes, and promotions, and if we’re being honest—obituaries) the world over.
It’s no surprise that the actress has an adoring fan base. In Yellowjackets, Lynskey plays Shauna, a suburban housewife and mother who, along with three friends, has been keeping secrets about a plane crash that happened in 1996. She told The Post that she would have been “overjoyed” to play this particular role in her 20s, noting “I sort of came into this industry with people telling me in explicit and subtle ways that if you are over a particular size, then this is the only kind of character you can play. And if you’re over a particular age, you’re done,” Lynskey.
But, “I’m a pretty normal-sized woman, and I’m 44 years old, and here I am playing somebody who’s complex and interesting and has a love life and a history and is the one of the focuses of the show,” she went on. “It feels wonderful.”
I am sorry to do this and she will be embarrassed that I did this but my GOODNESS what an absolyute beaut my wife is!!!
— Jason Ritter 🦋 (@JasonRitter) March 14, 2022
ok I’m sorry but I mean LOOK at this human being who is also the best person I know
Ok sorry again goodnight that’s enough from me but also 🔥👀 pic.twitter.com/dKX8Mgrt9Y
During the Critics Choice Awards acceptance speech, Lynskey’s husband, Ritter, 42, reciprocated the public’s admiration of his wife, taking to Twitter to share a photo of his better half on the red carpet. “ok I’m sorry but I mean LOOK at this human being who is also the best person I know,” he wrote.
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