Kumail Nanjiani Jokes About White Males, Erewhon at Spirit Awards 2026

Before Naomi Ackie received the award for supporting efficiency on the 2026 Independent Spirit Awards, Kumail Nanjiani identified that just one white man was nominated within the class, happening to joke concerning the demographic’s “comeback.”

“I’m here to present the award for best supporting actor performance. We have 10 nominees, and this year’s nominees include only one white man,” he started. “Ha ha, your time is over, white man.”

“I’m joking, you guys came back. Wow, what a comeback you guys had,” he stated, because the viewers responded in laughter. “I’ll be honest, we had counted you out. And you showed us. We thought it was our time, we were wrong.”

“It is not our time. It is still your time,” the comic continued, sharing congratulations “to almost everyone here.” Nanjiani then declared that he was “gonna join your ranks from now on,” saying, “I’m a white guy.”

“My name is now Chris Male, and I’m gonna start a podcast where I tell it like it is. And I’m eating Erewhon for lunch and dinner,” he joked. “Oh God, this does feel good. You guys just walk around feeling like this all the time?”

Nanjiani admitted that he was “joking” as a result of “obviously I cannot pass.” He continued, “And now that you white men have wrested power back from us, let me be the first to say I was always your biggest fan. I never stopped believing in you. You are doing a great job.”

“You have always done a great job, and I would like to stay in the country,” he added, a reference to ongoing deportations within the United States. Nanjiani then introduced Ackie, who was not in attendance, as the very best supporting efficiency winner.

Ackie was nominated for her work in Sorry, Baby alongside the likes of Zoey Deutch (Nouvelle Vague), Kirsten Dunst (Roofman), Rebecca Hall (Peter Hujar’s Day), Nina Hoss (Hedda), Jane Levy (A Little Prayer), Archie Madekwe (Lurker), Kali Reis (Rebuilding), Jacob Tremblay (Sovereign) and Haipeng Xu (Blue Sun Palace).

The Spirit Awards had been hosted by Ego Nwodim on Sunday on the Hollywood Palladium. The ceremony streamed dwell on the Film Independent and IMDb YouTube channels.

Heading into Sunday night time’s awards ceremony, Peter Hujar’s Day topped the nominations listing for the movie sector with 5 whole noms whereas Adolescence, Forever and Mr Loverman led with 4 nominations every for tv.

See all of the sparkly blue carpet seems right here and the total 2026 Spirit Awards winners listing right here.