TV

Dylan Alcott Used His Logies Speech To Celebrate Australians With Disabilities, And It Ruled

"People with a disability can be talented, funny, humorous -- just normal people enjoying their lives."

by Sam Langford  1 July 2019
dylan alcott

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If you missed last night’s Logies, there was one speech that really stole the show: Dylan Alcott absolutely smashed it out of the park.

The wheelchair athlete and TV host picked up the Graham Kennedy award for most popular new talent, and used his acceptance speech to celebrate fellow Australians with disabilities.

“This means a lot to me, because I used to absolutely hate having a disability. I’ve been in a wheelchair my whole life, and I hated it,” Alcott said. “One of the reasons I did hate it is when I turned on the TV, I never saw anybody like me. And when I did see someone like me, it was a road safety ad, where someone drink drives, has a car accident, and the next scene is someone like me, whose life’s over. And I was like, that’s not my life!”

“I wanted to get a job on TV because I love sharing stories, but also to show that people with a disability can be talented, funny, humorous — just normal people enjoying their lives.”

“To every single person who gave me an opportunity, thank you so bloody much. There are four and a half million people like me with a disability, so whether it’s in education, employment, going on a date — whatever it is, please give them an opportunity too. Because there are a lot of bloody talented people out there, and I promise you, they won’t disappoint.”

He also cheekily called the Logies out on failing to have a clearly wheelchair-accessible stage. “I actually thought I had no chance of winning, because when I got here I saw stairs,” he joked. “There was no ramp — like, I can’t win. But there’s a ramp out the back baby!”

You can watch Dylan Alcott’s full speech below: