Hollywood’s biggest stars largely avoided naming President Donald Trump as they accepted Emmy Awards on Monday night, but political undertones still surfaced throughout the ceremony.
For years, famously liberal performers have used their acceptance speeches to criticize the president and condemn his policies.
This year’s ceremony took a different tone. None of the winners directly referred to the commander-in-chief, while Trump himself made no mention of the Emmy Awards on his Truth Social account.
Still, the 78th Emmy Awards were not entirely free of political commentary. Sally Field delivered a subtle criticism of the embattled Paramount–Warner Bros. merger while also voicing support for the United States’ northern neighbor, Canada.
Field, a longtime Democratic supporter, alluded to Trump’s threats to impose tariffs on Canada and make the country the 51st state during her acceptance speech. She won Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for Netflix’s Remarkably Bright Creatures.
Stephen Colbert’s The Late Show also won Outstanding Variety Series, despite having been canceled.
After the ceremony, reporters asked Colbert whether he believed the show’s cancellation was linked to backlash from Trump. The comedian, who has now been ousted from the program, appeared eager to avoid giving a direct answer.
‘What – that’s a beautiful dress,’ Colbert replied, shifting his attention to the female reporter standing beside him.
President Donald Trump was noticeably absent from the conversation as Hollywood’s biggest stars accepted Emmy Awards on Monday night
Sally Field criticized the embattled Paramount–Warner Bros. merger and referred to President Trump’s proposed tariffs on Canada during her acceptance speech
Stephen Colbert’s The Late Show won Outstanding Variety Series, even after the program was canceled
When the female reporter pressed him to respond, Colbert joked that he was ‘deaf’ in one ear.
‘What did you say?’ he asked the male reporter who had initially questioned him about Trump. ‘You wanted to know who the most important member of my staff is? It’s me.’
Network executives have insisted that canceling Colbert’s show was ‘purely a financial decision.’
That explanation came days after Colbert described Paramount/CBS’ $16 million settlement with President Trump as ‘a big fat bribe.’
At the time, Paramount was also pursuing a multibillion-dollar merger with film studio Skydance, a deal requiring approval from the Federal Communications Commission.
When Colbert’s show ended in May, he took several parting shots at his former employers at CBS and Paramount. Among them was the unauthorized use of ‘Linus and Lucy,’ the familiar song from the Peanuts specials.
In another skit, famed astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson claimed the network had created an ‘interdimensional wormhole’ by canceling the program, despite it being ‘number one on late night.’
Colbert’s Emmy acceptance speech, however, was considerably more restrained. Rather than revisiting the controversy, he used the moment to champion the show’s writing staff.
Colbert used his acceptance speech on Monday night to advocate for his writing staff
He pointed out that ‘if you like the comedy tonight, my old writers wrote it,’ and said that late-night shows are a ‘fantastic incubator to come in’ and learn how to work on a deadline.
‘That is the future of the business that we have to look after,’ he declared.
Colbert then told the audience he had ‘great news’ for the industry: His writers are now available to work.
‘Hire them,’ he urged. ‘They will make your show better and they will make your day easier.’
He also thanked the ‘thousands’ of people at the Peacock Theater in downtown Los Angeles who he has interviewed on the show, but said his ‘favorite guest’ is his wife, Evelyn McGee Colbert, whom he called the ‘only audience I really care about.
‘Yours is the laugh that I want for the rest of my life,’ Colbert lovingly told his wife. ‘I love you.’
He then concluded his speech by thanking his viewers.
‘Thank you so much for watching. We hope you enjoyed the show. We had a great time doing it for you. That’s it, thank you. We’ll catch you on the flip.’
Field spoke out against Trump’s policies as she took home her fourth Emmy award
Meanwhile, Sally Field defended Canada as she took home her fourth Emmy award.
In her speech Monday night, Field praised director Olivia Newman for how she filmed the Pacific Northwest as if it was another character in the Netflix film Remarkably Bright Creatures – leading her to start a pro-Canada rant.
‘And Canada, blessed Canada, our neighbors, our friends,’ she said while pumping her fist, in an apparent nod to Donald Trump’s dueling tariffs with Canada and his taunts that the nation could become the 51st state of the US.
‘I would not be up here. I have been so grateful and so proud to be a part of this community, the arts, for 62 years or something,’ she said before launching into her rant, as fellow winner and Widow’s Bay star Matthew Rhys was seen looking puzzled in the audience.
‘With art, we matter. Our voices matter,’ she continued. ‘Our diversity, our unique storytelling matters.
‘We can’t let those voices be silenced, or compromised or merged,’ she said, adding extra emphasis on the last word to turn the audience’s attention to Paramount Skydance’s attempt to buy up Warner Bros.
The merger move has been viciously opposed by numerous forces in Hollywood, including the actors union SAG-AFTRA, while the Writers Guild of America went as far as to sue to block the merger.
Twelve state attorneys general, led by California’s Rob Bonta, have since joined the lawsuit to prevent Paramount from buying Warner Bros.
