‘Unlike the presidency, Emmys go to the winner of the popular vote’
Not even three minutes into the 2017 Emmy Awards, host Stephen Colbert had already poked fun at the nature of US politics several times in a song-and-dance number.
And that was just the beginning.
During the opening number, Colbert and the stars of nominated showspoked fun at the inquiry into President Trump’s campaign ties to Russia, the state of healthcare, and part of Trump’s fan base.
“Imagine if your president was not beloved by Nazis?’’ sang Julia Louis-Dreyfus, playing her characterSelina Meyer of “Veep.’’
Colbert didn’t back off during his monologue. After hitting on the high points of TV in this era, Colbert added: “Of course, there’s no way anyone could possibly watch that much TV — other than the president, who seems to have a lot of time for that sort of thing.’’
Colbert then began waving: “Hello sir, thank you for joining us. Looking forward to the tweets.’’
He also pointed out that Trump has been the biggest TV star of the past year: “And Alec Baldwin, obviously. You guys are neck and neck, and Alec, you’re up against a lot of neck.’’
Colbert also listed several shows, from “House of Cards’’ to “American Horror Story,’’ that were influenced by Trump, adding in at the last moment: “And next year’s Latin Grammys, hosted by Joe Arpaio.’’ (Colbert was referencing the infamous Arizona sheriff, whose aggressive efforts to hunt down and detain unauthorized immigrants earned him a criminal conviction — and a subsequent pardon by Trump.)
Colbert also rubbed salt in Trump’s wound for never having won an Emmy for “The Apprentice,’’ showing a clip from a Trump/Hillary Clinton presidential debate where she mentioned how Trump was upset he never won. “Should’ve gotten it,’’ Trump then said.
“But he didn’t, because unlike the presidency, Emmys go to the winner of the popular vote,’’ Colbert quipped right after, eliciting applause and cheers from the audience.
And, in an appearance that shocked viewers and the audience alike, former White House press secretary Sean Spicer emerged at one point behind a podium.
“What really matters to Donald Trump is ratings — you’ve gotta have the big numbers. Unfortunately at this point, we have no way of knowing how big our audience is. Sean, do you know?’’
At that point, Spicer entered the stage on the podium, declaring, “This will be the largest audience to witness an Emmys period, both in person and around the world.’’ (Spicer famously made his entrance onto the political stage in late January by defending Trump’s claims that record numbers of people attended his inaugural.)
Trump wasn’t the only one to incur Colbert’s comedic wrath. The late night TV show host referred to Ted Cruz’s Twitter account recently liking a pornographic video: “Of course these days everyone loves streaming video. Just ask Ted Cruz.’’
He also began listing the African-American actors and actresses in attendance, tacking on Bill Maher’s name at the end.
“I assume he’s black since he’s so comfortable using the n-word,’’ Colbert quipped. After both laughter and groans followed the joke, Colbert threw a kiss to the audience and pretended to leave.
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