--- description: Find out how Meyne Wyatt is shaping the future and defining the next generation of leadership. title: 2021 TIME100 Next: Meyne Wyatt image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbd95dd66731b81fd/698a1723b3fce3feef0c7b05/time100-next-Meyne-Wyatt.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Feb 16, 2021 # Meyne Wyatt by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close  Mandatory Credit: Photo by JOEL CARRETT/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock (10779505c) Australian actor Meyne Wyatt poses for a photo with his Packing Room Prize-winning self-portrait, entitled Meyne, at the Art Gallery of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, 17 September 2020\. Wyatt is the first indigenous artist to claim any prize of the Archibald Prize. The Archibald Prize has been running for 99 years. Meyne Wyatt first indigenous artist to claim Archibald prize, Sydney, Australia - 17 Sep 2020 Mandatory Credit: Photo by JOEL CARRETT/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock (10779505c) Australian actor Meyne Wyatt poses for a photo with his Packing Room Prize-winning self-portrait, entitled Meyne, at the Art Gallery of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, 17 September 2020\. Wyatt is the first indigenous artist to claim any prize of the Archibald Prize. The Archibald Prize has been running for 99 years. Meyne Wyatt first indigenous artist to claim Archibald prize, Sydney, Australia - 17 Sep 2020Joel Carrett—EPA-EFE/Shutterstock The killing of George Floyd in May 2020 in Minneapolis ignited protests in support of the Black Lives Matter movement on almost every continent. In Australia, as demonstrations renewed attention to the racial inequality faced by Indigenous Australians, the actor and writer Meyne Wyatt delivered a searing monologue about the experience of living through systemic racism. The sharp lines, written by Wyatt for his play City of Gold, carried a strong message. “Seeing us as animals and not as people—that sh-t needs to stop,” he said. “Black deaths in custody—that sh-t needs to stop.” His words went viral and immediately struck a nerve in the country, which has recorded more than 441 Aboriginal deaths in custody since 1991\. “Watching this was very uncomfortable,” said one Twitter user. Others commented that the monologue made them cry. An Australian comedian dubbed it “the best two minutes of Australian TV ever,” and BuzzFeed even suggested it be taught in schools. Now Wyatt, who lives in Sydney, is directing his first short film, which he also wrote. He’s also working on a new play—commissioned by the Sydney Theatre Company—and writing an episode on an upcoming television series. _—Amy Gunia_ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/time100-next-2021/5937631/meyne-wyatt/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/time100-next-2021/5937631/meyne-wyatt/"},"headline":"Meyne Wyatt","datePublished":"2021-02-16T23:31:07.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-02T23:47:41.421Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/time100-next-2021/5937631/meyne-wyatt/","keywords":["list","franchise","TIME 100 Next","TIME 100 Next Advocates"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbd95dd66731b81fd/698a1723b3fce3feef0c7b05/time100-next-Meyne-Wyatt.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbd95dd66731b81fd/698a1723b3fce3feef0c7b05/time100-next-Meyne-Wyatt.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/time100-next-2021/5937631/meyne-wyatt/","name":"Meyne Wyatt"}}]}] ```