Donald Glover Thanks “Great Algorithm”, Not God, at Emmys
- By Kelly Frazier --
- 20 Sep 2017 --
He credited his father for his musical tastes
While accepting an Emmy for his superlative directing skills for Atlanta, a critically acclaimed comedy series, Donald Glover departed from the usual speeches and thanked a mathematical concept instead of God[/tweetit] for the award. Glover, the first black person in Emmy history to win an award in the Outstanding Directing category, thanked the 'great algorithm' which theoretically enabled him his award. Glover's novel acceptance speech was all the more striking as he was born to a Jehovah's Witness family.
Donald Glover Thanks “Great Algorithm” at Emmys[/tweetthis]
The Outstanding Directing award was not the only one going to Glover that night. He also won the award for the outstanding lead actor working in a comedy series for Atlanta. Other than that, he has found lead roles in future Star Wars and Spiderman films. The multi-talented artist is also a rapper, using the moniker Childish Gambino. His latest release, Awaken, My Love!, is from 2016.
For Glover, the switch to irreverence towards religion came naturally. In a media interview the actor and director discussed in detail his difficulty when he was a child growing up as a Jehovah's Witnesses in the deep south. He told the interviewer that being a Witness increased his own alienation. This was all the more painful as he always was a little out of the ordinary. Members of Jehovah's Witness do not celebrate Christmas. They also do not say the Pledge of Allegiance. His classmates and friends did not understand his brand of Christianity. There is good reason for that: almost everyone in his area of the deep South was christened a Southern Baptist.
yall im dead i love donald glover i too will be using "great algorithm" instead of god
thank the great algorithm for donald glover— ashna:)) (@ashnayakoob) September 19, 2017
Being a member of the Jehovah's Witnesses forced the young and impressionable Glover to look at the world differently. He was naturally wary of the outside world from the start. In short, he admitted that being a Jehovah's Witness definitely played a part in being creative in life. The Childish Gambino star also said that Tina Fey, the SNL personality, inspired him.