Jared Leto dedicates Oscar win to 36 million AIDS victims

Jared Leto has dedicated his Oscar victory to the 36 million people worldwide who have lost their lives to AIDS.

At the 86th annual Academy Awards tonight (March 2) Leto picked up the Best Supporting Actor prize for his role as transgender AIDS activist Rayon in Dallas Buyers Club.

After thanking his mother and various people involved in the making of the acclaimed movie, he told the audience: “To the 36 million people who have lost the battle to AIDS and those out there who have ever faced injustice for who you are and who you love, I stand here for you tonight.”

Leto’s Dallas Buyers Club co-star Matthew McConaughey will compete for the Best Actor prize at tonight’s Oscars. McConaughey stars in the 80s-set drama as Ron Woodroof, a real-life Texas electrician who is told he is HIV-positive and only has one month to live – and begins smuggling unapproved pharmaceutical drugs into the United States when he finds they are effective in treating his symptoms.

> Oscars 2014: The winners in full

Watch Leto’s speech below:

[youtube height=”315″ width=”560″]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVe9bxtH_DI[/youtube]