Entertainment

Watch: Jimmy Kimmel fooled viewers (for a moment) in 2020 Emmys opening monologue

"Welcome to the pandemmys."

Host Jimmy Kimmel speaks during the 72nd Emmy Awards broadcast. The Television Academy and ABC Entertainment via AP

Jimmy Kimmel pulled a fast one on viewers at home to open the 2020 Emmys.

The late-night host began his opening monologue for the ceremony as if nothing was amiss, making a joke to a cheering crowd. Or so it seemed.

“Hello and welcome to the pandemmmys,” Kimmel said, to laughs and cheers from stars like Ted Danson and Larry David. “Wow, it’s great to finally see people again. Thank you for risking everything to be here.”

After a few minutes of riffing as the “crowd” laughed along, Kimmel revealed that he was using archival footage from previous years when producers played a clip of Kimmel himself laughing along in the audience.

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“Hey was that me? But wait, if I’m down there, how am I up here?” Kimmel said. “That would mean that’s no one in the audience. That would mean that I’m up here all alone. Just like prom night.”

The camera then panned out to show Kimmel alone on the stage of the Staples Center.

“Of course I’m here all alone, of course we don’t have an audience,” Kimmel said. “This isn’t a MAGA rally, this is the Emmys!”

Watch the opening monologue below.

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Kevin Slane

Staff Writer

Kevin Slane is a staff writer for Boston.com covering entertainment and culture. His work focuses on movie reviews, streaming guides, celebrities, and things to do in Boston.

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