EVERY YEAR, THE Emmy Awards honour the best the television industry has had to over over the course of the previous 12 months.
And every year, networks and studios spend an extraordinary amount of money, known as For Your Consideration funds, on campaigns to promote their submissions.
So far, so standard… well, until Gina Rodriquez decided to rock the boat, that is.
In a departure from the norm, the Jane the Virgin star felt that the money could be put to something more worthwhile and approached her show’s bosses to discuss it.
And because of this, an undocumented Latina high school student has been awarded four years of fully-funded tuition at Princeton University – one of the United States’ Ivy League schools.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, the 33-year-old actress appeared vaguely cynical over the sheer amount of money invested in the Emmy campaign through the For Your Consideration fund.
FYC is a bizarre dance. Whatever you do requires an insane amount of money.
Our show has always jumped at any opportunity to help me do something for the Latinx community. So I asked my showrunner, Jennie Snyder Urman, if we could do something different with the money this year.
After paying tribute to the crew members who helped her partner with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Los Angeles in order to fund a high school student’s college career, Gina admitted she hoped the move might inspire others.
It’s taboo to talk about the money being spent, but it’s the reality. I think sharing this might inspire other people to do something similar. You can desire recognition and, at the same time, decide to not play in the confines of the game as it’s set up.
The fifth series of Jane the Virgin, which has yet to confirm its premiere date, will be the final series of the hit show.
