Tony award winner Bourzgui’s acceptance speech compares Zionists and billionaires to vampires

Musician Ali Louis Bourzgui won a Tony award last night, 7 June, for his portrayal of a vampire in the musical adaptation of The Lost Boys. As he received his award, he compared Zionists and billionaires to the vampires of the show – people “who have shunned their own humanity in order to achieve a nonexistent sense of superiority”.

And in case anyone was still unclear what he meant, he used his speech to wish freedom to the Palestinian people from occupation, as well as to praise the immigrants and trans people constantly targeted by the US fascist regime:

Tony award winner speaks out

The full transcript of Bourzgui’s remarkable speech accepting a Tony award is below:

Sometimes humanity needs a fantastical lens outside of ourselves to look at and explore questions about our own nature. Vampires represent those who have shunned their own humanity in order to achieve a nonexistent sense of superiority.

The billionaires will never find happiness from their money. The colonizers will never find fulfillment from the land and lives they steal. The fascists will never find meaning from their conformity, not in this lifetime or eternity.

People like to say that theater is a form of escape, but I’ve found more than ever that in this season and time that the theater is one of the last places people can come to worship the power of true collective human presence. We take a moment to recondition our addiction to desensitization. We ask how we can see ourselves in a stranger’s story and then carry that sentiment out into the world that needs us
to ask that more than ever.

This is dedicated to the beautiful tapestry of immigrant families who make this country really special. May you one day not have to audition for the empathy that should be freely given by this country that benefits from your beauty.

For the queer and trans communities who have and always will exist no matter what people in power try to take away from them.

For the people of Palestine who deserve to live a free life, a full life without occupation.

For Arab theater makers and artists, may we continue to tell our stories and show our faces so our humanity becomes undeniable and our families can no longer be written off as merely collateral damage. May they know the beauty of our kisses upon each cheek and the romance of a language rooted in passion for love and life itself.

If there’s one thing we can learn from vampires, it’s that life is short, but that’s its gift.

Find beauty in the ephemeral and gratitude in what is not promised, and always invest in the people that want to see you blossom into your truest self and hold that space for them in return.

I dedicate this award to my late mentor, Ralph Petillo. Thank you.

Israel is a terror state. Billionaires shouldn’t exist. Free Palestine and someone find some more awards for Ali Louis Bourzgui.

Featured image via Getty/Theo Wargo