A shocking report from the Athletic reveals that for decades, ESPN has pulled trick plays on the Emmy Awards so that the network could dole out individual trophies to its stars who were not eligible to receive them at the time.
The scandal relates to an old rule forbidding on-air hosts from receiving individual trophies for an Emmy Award given to their show. The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, the organization which governs the Emmys, implemented the rule to prevent "double-dipping," as hosts were still eligible to win awards in individual categories for the same body of work, the Athletic explained.
That rule was scrapped in 2023.
However, for decades, ESPN did a clever end-around. When submitting shows for award nominations, the network included fake names of people who supposedly worked behind the scenes. Then, when ESPN's shows won, someone would take the trophies awarded to fake people and have them re-engraved to feature the names of real ESPN stars. Those stars would then receive the trophy in the mail, likely completely unaware that they hadn't actually won it.
In all, ESPN sent out "more than 30 of the coveted statuettes" to on-air hosts, the Athletic claimed, many of them to current or former stars on "College GameDay," the iconic show about college football which airs on Saturday mornings during the fall.
Between 2008 and 2018, "College GameDay" won eight Emmys for outstanding weekly studio show. The Athletic examined the credit lists associated with those wins and learned that in almost every case, ESPN had submitted names closely resembling those of real people, claiming that each one was an "associate producer."
According to the Athletic:
Kirk Henry (Kirk Herbstreit), Lee Clark (Lee Corso), Dirk Howard (Desmond Howard), and Tim Richard (Tom Rinaldi) appeared in all seven years. Steven Ponder (Sam Ponder) and Gene Wilson (Gene Wojciechowski) appeared in five from 2014-18. Chris Fulton (Chris Fowler) appeared in 2010, 2011, 2014 and 2015. Shelley Saunders (Shelley Smith) appeared in the 2010 credit list.
However, longtime "SportsCenter" host Linda Cohn may also have received Emmys she didn't win as well. Though NATAS confirmed that Cohn has earned one Emmy, she apparently has a total of four in her possession. In an Instagram post dated November 2023, she called them her "Fab 4." She referred the Athletic to an ESPN spokesperson for comment.
NATAS eventually began to suspect that someone at ESPN was gaming the system, and in 2022, the Emmy group asked the network to verify some of the names it had submitted for awards. At that point, ESPN, which conducted an investigation into the matter as well, fessed up.
For its report, the Athletic attempted to ascertain why ESPN went to so much trouble. While some at the network suggested the scheme was designed to feed the egos of hosts or executives, others told the outlet that the rule was "stupid," ostensibly because it allowed those in the industry to recognize an exceptional show without giving credit to those who appeared on it.
Since NATAS threw the flag at ESPN, 37 statuettes have been returned, but it is unclear whether they are all from ESPN. There is no indication that other networks borrowed a page from ESPN's playbook and conducted a similar scheme.
ESPN has issued a statement about the scandal:
Some members of our team were clearly wrong in submitting certain names that may go back to 1997 in Emmy categories where they were not eligible for recognition or statuettes. This was a misguided attempt to recognize on-air individuals who were important members of our production team. Once current leadership was made aware, we apologized to NATAS for violating guidelines and worked closely with them to completely overhaul our submission process to safeguard against anything like this happening again.
We brought in outside counsel to conduct a full and thorough investigation and individuals found to be responsible were disciplined by ESPN.
Adam Sharp of NATAS gave one to the Athletic as well:
NATAS identified a number of fictitious credits submitted by ESPN to multiple Sports Emmys competitions. When brought to the attention of ESPN senior management, the network took steps to take responsibility for the actions of its personnel, to investigate thoroughly, and to course correct. These steps have included the return by ESPN of statuettes issued to fictitious individuals and commitments to implement further internal accountability and procedural changes at the network.
At least three current or former ESPN employees, all in senior production positions, are no longer eligible to win an Emmy going forward. The identity of the individual who authorized the scheme in the first place remains unknown.
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Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel is being accused of using his "white privilege" to upstage Quinta Brunson at the Emmy Awards ceremony.
While Brunson, creator and lead actress of ABC's hit show "Abbott Elementary," was accepting her award for best Writing for a Comedy Series, Kimmel acted out a skit in which Brunson was forced to step over his body.
When it was time to present the award, Will Arnett dragged Kimmel's body onto the stage and joked about Kimmel having drunk too many "skinny margaritas." But Kimmel never got up, and Brunson was forced to give her acceptance speech while standing over his body.
To her credit, Brunson remained professional throughout, gave a touching speech, and then left the stage.
Writing for a Comedy Series: 74th Emmy Awards www.youtube.com
The antics, however, did not go over well.
In fact, fans, especially black fans, saw the incident as yet another instance of a white man stealing the spotlight from the accomplishments of black women.
After the awards ceremony, Brunson was asked about Kimmel's controversial skit. She responded with total grace.
"I know Jimmy Kimmel, and I don’t know, I felt like the bit didn’t bother me that much. I don’t know what the internet thinks," she said. "I know him. Jimmy gave me my first big late-night spot and was one of the first people to see ‘Abbott.' He Instagram messaged me that he saw this comedy and thought it was one of the greatest comedies of all time and he was so excited it was going to be on ABC."
"So in that moment I think I was just really happy that it was Jimmy up there. I kind of consider him one of the comedy godfathers," she continued.
"Tomorrow maybe I’ll be mad at him. I’m going to be on his show on Wednesday, so I might punch him in the face," she quipped. "I don’t know. We'll see what happens."
\u201cQuinta Brunson addressed Jimmy Kimmel laying on stage during her #Emmys acceptance speech: "I felt like the bit didn\u2019t bother me that much...Tomorrow maybe I\u2019ll be mad at him. I\u2019m going to be on his show on Wednesday, so I might punch him in the face." https://t.co/Bm8Bfhyi0k\u201d— Variety (@Variety) 1663039869
For the first time ever, a transgender actor is set to be considered for an Emmy award for a lead acting role in a prime-time series.
Mj Rodriguez, who was born a biological male but now identifies as a female following a gender transition, was nominated this week for Best Lead Actress in a Drama.
Should Rodriguez win the award when the winners are announced in September, it would mark the first time that a transgender actor has won an acting Emmy.
Rodriguez was nominated for a performance as "house mother" Bianca Rodriguez in the FX series "Pose," a dramatization of New York City's underground drag ballroom culture in the 1980s and 1990s amid the rise of the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
The show, which has been celebrated for casting transgender actors to play transgender characters, scooped up 11 Emmy nominations over its first two seasons and this year is up for Best Drama Series.
In an interview with the Associated Press following the nomination, Rodriguez said, "I felt so seen."
"I felt represented and I felt seen," added the actor. "And ... more accepted than I have felt in a long time. I felt like my colleagues now see me, my acting colleagues see me, and the people who are surrounded by the arts see me, and how much I want to give the world the love to my craft and my art."
Rodriguez expressed similar sentiments during an interview with ExtraTV, saying, "I feel so seen ... I cried something hard."
'Pose' Star MJ Rodriguez on Her History-Making Emmy Nomination: 'I Cried Something Hard' www.youtube.com
News of Rodriguez's nomination immediately earned praise from LGBT groups, including the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD).
"Mj Rodriguez's Emmy nomination for outstanding lead actress in a drama series is a breakthrough for transgender women in Hollywood, and a long-overdue recognition for her groundbreaking performance over the past three seasons of Pose," said president and CEO of GLAAD Sarah Kate Ellis in a statement.
"Additionally, the show's nomination for outstanding drama series, as well as Billy Porter's third nomination for outstanding lead actor in a drama series, mark a historic show that undoubtedly raised the bar for trans representation on television and changed the way viewers around the world understand the trans community," Ellis continued.
Receiving an Emmy Award nomination has apparently never been easier. One needs only to be a darling of the liberal media who does something on television that can feasibly be deemed a "performance."
Case in point: Former Democratic candidate for Georgia governor, Stacey Abrams, who on Tuesday was nominated for "Outstanding Character Voiceover Performance" ahead of the 2021 awards show.
What was the "outstanding performance" that garnered her consideration?
She appeared for all of one minute and seven seconds in an animated election special of the ABC sitcom, "Black-ish," playing herself while magnifying the importance of mail-in and early voting.
In the episode, which aired in October, one month before the 2020 presidential election, Abrams helps "Dre," played by Anthony Anderson, get the wheels rolling at the start of his congressional run.
Dre Gets Campaign Help from Stacey Abrams and Desus & Mero - black-ish youtu.be
Abrams, who failed in her bid for governor in 2018, has since taken up efforts to expand voting through third-party registration and is credited by many on the left for flipping Georgia blue during the 2020 election.
One of her groups, the New Georgia Project, came under investigation last year for "repeatedly and aggressively" seeking to register "ineligible, out-of-state, or deceased voters" before the state's Jan. 5 Senate runoffs.
Not surprisingly, news of Abrams' nomination was celebrated by those in progressive media circles.
In a Fast Company report on her nomination, Christopher Zara wrote, "When she's not saving democracy, writing a best-selling novel, or running her fintech startup, Stacey Abrams is apparently very busy doing cartoon voiceovers, and now her efforts have garnered her a nomination for television's highest honor."
Film director Liz Garbus wrote, "Give her ALL the things!"
Abrams thanked "Black-ish" in a tweet for "lifting up the rights of voters at such a critical time" and for "letting [her] appear such a fantastic show."
Thank you for lifting up the rights of voters at such a critical time (and letting me appear such a fantastic show… https://t.co/GpfLOza7Ma
— Stacey Abrams (@staceyabrams) 1626194981.0
Abrams is set to face off against Jessica Walter ("Archer"), Maya Rudolph ("Big Mouth"), Julie Andrews ("Bridgerton"), Tituss Burgess ("Central Park"), Stanley Tucci ("Central Park"), and Seth MacFarlane ("Family Guy") for the award.
Though this is Abrams' first Emmy Award nomination, it's not the first time that she has been considered for an entertainment award.
Earlier this year, a documentary co-produced by Abrams, "All In: The Fight for Democracy," was shortlisted for an Academy Award in the documentary feature category.
The 73rd Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony will be held Sept. 19 in downtown Los Angeles.
The 2020 Emmy Awards aired on Sunday, but you probably missed it.
According to culture and entertainment site Vulture, this year's awards ceremony became by far the least-watched in Nielsen ratings history. Just 6.1 million viewers tuned in to watch the once-popular TV awards event, which is 13% fewer than the previous low mark set the year before, when 7 million people watched.
Apparently, celebrities accepting awards over video as late-night host Jimmy Kimmel operated alone in an empty Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, wasn't intriguing enough for people to tune in.
Vulture blamed the low viewership on COVID-19 and "unprecedented sports competition," including Sunday Night Football — which isn't exactly new — and NBA playoff coverage.
But awards show viewership has been on a steady decline for years, as Hollywood show hosts and honorees have consistently alienated audiences by pandering to the left and attacking conservatives during the ceremonies.
The 2020 Emmy Awards were no different in this regard.
During his opening monologue, Kimmel took a swipe at President Donald Trump and his supporters, congratulating himself and the Emmys for choosing not to have a live audience amid the coronavirus pandemic, in contrast to rallies recently held by the president.
"Of course we don't have an audience; this isn't a MAGA rally, it's the Emmys. Instead of the live audience, we took a page from baseball tonight and we filled the seats with cardboard cutouts of the nominees," Kimmel said.
We put the “mono” in monologue at the 2020 #Emmys... @TelevisionAcad @ABCNetwork @BatemanJason https://t.co/Wtajk450SK— Jimmy Kimmel (@Jimmy Kimmel)1600650526.0
Then later in the show, actor Anthony Anderson, star of the sitcom "Black-ish," awkwardly led Kimmel in chanting "Black Lives Matter!" on stage.
"Louder, Jimmy!" Anderson hollered at Kimmel during the rehearsed bit. "Say it so that my kids can hear it!"
TheBlaze's Dave Urbanski noted that there was, curiously, no mention of the fact that Kimmel was recently forced to take a leave of absence from "Jimmy Kimmel Live" after a controversial video of him in blackface resurfaced.
.@AnthonyAnderson was looking forward to the blackest #Emmys ever… #BlackLivesMatter https://t.co/HFcTp1OfHR— Jimmy Kimmel (@Jimmy Kimmel)1600656253.0
The show also spoofed the ongoing controversies surround the postal service and mail-in voting with a rehearsed exchange between Kimmel and a peculiar — and obviously Russian — mail carrier.
Jimmy Kimmel's Odd New Mailman at the Emmys youtu.be
Though not watched by many, the awards show was praised for its diversity of nominees and winners. Deadline reported that black and LGBTQ nominees experienced a marked uptick in this year's ceremony.
"On the acting side, there were more than 30 people of color nominated, while actors who have openly identified as members of the LGBTQ+ community took in nearly a dozen nominations. On the hosting side, six people of color were nominated while seven people who identified as LGBTQ+ received nods," the outlet noted.
Another Emmy season has come and gone. This year’s winners and nominees are once again a sweeping validation of the left-leaning Ford Foundation’s strategy to sponsor and cultivate progressive films and filmmakers. The Ford Foundation’s biggest winner this season, “Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project,” an artsy biopic about a poet and activist, won […]
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