Sheryl Lee Ralph Admits, I’ve Had This Speech Ready Since I Was Five

On Monday’s episode of The Jennifer Hudson Show, the 65-year-old Abbott Elementary actress recalled her first Emmy win, which she received for outstanding supporting actress in a comedy.

Ralph’s acceptance speech, in which she sang a stanza from jazz singer Diane Reeves’ 1993 song Endangered Species, was widely regarded as one of the night’s most memorable moments when she won an Emmy in 2022. When Hudson inquired if Ralph had written the speech before her name was called, Ralph…