Critics' Choice Award: Kumail Nanjiani said he'd "like to thank all the white men"

SCREEN CAPTURE'
Kumail Nanjiani and wife Emily V. Gordon, both of whom cowrote the script 'The Big Sick' based on their real-life courtship,  receive their Critics Choice Award.

IN AN UNPRECEDENTED event, The Big Sick, a movie based on the inter-racial courtship of Pakistani/American Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon, won the Critics' Choice Award for Best Movie Comedy.

Nanjiani used his Critics' Choice Awards speech to make a point about diversity on Thursday night.

RELATED: Anna Awards gives Best Movie to 'The Big Sick'

'I’d like to thank all the white men who allowed us to stand here today,' said the Pakistani-born actor and comic after accepting the trophy for Best Comedy.

Nanjiani was honored for The Big Sick, the film he co-wrote with wife Emily V. Gordon, inspired by their own life.

During their courtship, Gordon suffered a life-threatening illness and was placed in an induced coma. As she accepted the award, she said, 'We had such an amazing cast that brought the movie to life. I want to thank my doctor.' 

It is the first time in Hollywood history that an original script written by an Asian/American was so honored.
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