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Julia Louis-Dreyfus Reveals Father's Death In Emotional Emmys Speech

The actress made us laugh and cry.
THE 68TH EMMY(r) AWARDS - The 68th Emmy Awards broadcasts live from The Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, Sunday, September 18 (7:00-11:00 p.m. EDT/4:00-8:00 p.m. PDT), on ABC and is hosted by Jimmy Kimmel. (Image Group LA/ABC via Getty Images)JULIA LOUIS-DREYFUS
Image Group LA via Getty Images
THE 68TH EMMY(r) AWARDS - The 68th Emmy Awards broadcasts live from The Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, Sunday, September 18 (7:00-11:00 p.m. EDT/4:00-8:00 p.m. PDT), on ABC and is hosted by Jimmy Kimmel. (Image Group LA/ABC via Getty Images)JULIA LOUIS-DREYFUS

On Sunday night at the 2016 Emmy Awards, Julia Louis-Dreyfus took home the award for Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for her role as Selina Meyer on “Veep.”

The actress, who has won the award for the past five consecutive years, started her speech by thanking the cast and crew of the show, then took a moment to personally apologize for the current political climate.

“’Veep’ has torn down the wall between comedy and politics,” she said, garnering laughs from the crowd. “Our show started out as a political satire but it now feels more like a sobering documentary. So I certainly do promise to rebuild that wall ... and make Mexico pay for it.”

Before she left the stage, the actress took a moment to dedicate her speech to her father, William Louis-Dreyfus, who, she revealed, died this past Friday.

Speaking through tears, the TV star said, “I’m so glad that he liked ‘Veep,’ because his opinion was the one that really mattered. Thank you.”

As Entertainment Weekly editor Meeta Agrawal noted on Twitter:

Louis-Dreyfus beat out fellow actresses Ellie Kemper, Amy Schumer, Lily Tomlin, Tracee Ellis Ross and Laurie Metcalf to win the award. The star has now won in this category a record six times, putting her ahead of Candice Bergen and Mary Tyler Moore.

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