I went into this year’s Emmy Awards with no expectations. I wasn’t excited for them beforehand, and I had no anticipatory happiness about the fashion, the celebrities or anything else. Isn’t that weird? It wasn’t blogger ennui on my part, I don’t think. I believe it was more about the fact that awards shows this year – starting with the Golden Globes in January – have been overtaken by political angst in the real world. We’re all living in a nightmare state of existence here in America and it’s difficult to put that aside for a night to watch pretty people get awards. That’s just my opinion. That being said, I mostly enjoyed this year’s Emmy telecast and I thought Stephen Colbert did a good job as host – he leaned into political humor, he kept the show moving fast, and several of his filler-bits were quite funny. The one thing Colbert f–ked up was inviting Sean Spicer to make a cameo. That did not go over very well at all. Or was it part of Colbert’s master plan to remind people how much they hated Spicey? Who knows?
Anyway, besides the Sean Spicer stuff, most people appreciated that Colbert didn’t shy away from political humor, at least that’s how it seemed to me. Obviously, the White House had a different take. Kellyanne Conway slammed the Emmys in an interview on Monday:
President Donald Trump has yet to weigh in on Sunday’s Emmycast, in which he seemed to be the direct or indirect target of attacks and barbs across an array of speeches and punchlines. But his adviser, Kellyanne Conway, did weigh in on Monday, telling “Fox & Friends” that the Emmy ratings are suffering, along with that of other events, because they have gotten so political.
“The Emmys, the Miss America pageant was very politicized. Our sports are very politicized. It looks like the ratings are suffering,” she said. “It looks like Americans are tuning out. They want you to stick to your knitting. They want you to stick to the stuff that other people write for you.”
“It is the sameness,” Conway told the “Fox & Friends” host of the Emmy ceremony’s focus on Trump. “They got plucked and polished and some of them didn’t eat for two months, all for what? To sound the same.” She said that while the celebrities at the ceremony “are entitled to their opinion,” how “does it really fit?”
Yet Conway did praise Sean Spicer’s cameo appearance, in which he skewered his own debut as White House press secretary, when he insisted on a record inaugural crowd size. Conway said that Spicer “is a man of good humor.”
“This is something that folks in Hollywood often lack — which is introspection and good humor,” she said. Conway also said that she was pleased that Kate McKinnon won an Emmy, after playing her on “Saturday Night Live,” as well as Hillary Clinton.
I actually think Conway has a point, although not the point she thinks she’s making. It’s not really that suddenly the Miss America pageant, the Emmys and the Golden Globes are crazy-political. It’s that Donald Trump is so far from the mainstream of American politics/culture that when you say even one small thing that offends him or his equally thin-skinned supporters, it’s read as “political attack” and deplorable meltdowns follow. You know what I mean? In previous years, you could mention President Obama or even make a joke about Obama without it blowing up into a huge political controversy.
I would also argue that it would be worse if all entertainment shows decided to completely avoid political stuff in general – they really would seem out-of-touch. Anyway, Kellyanne was wrong about the ratings – while early reports claimed that the ratings for the Emmys were at an all time low, the numbers are in now: this year’s Emmys got 11.4 million viewers. The 2016 Emmy telecast (which I don’t even remember) got 11.3 million viewers. Here’s my alternate theory for all of this: there are too many awards shows. We need to pare back the awards season red carpet extravaganza because people are getting bored with awards show after awards show every other weekend.
Photos courtesy of Getty.
Oh Kellyanne. No one cares what she thinks about anything, or believes a word that comes out of her mouth. And we all know if she were invited to something like that, she jump at the chance.
You can’t believe a word that comes out of any of their mouth’s. It’s all BS,.
#themostembarrassingpresidentever
#thewholeworldislaughingatus
#dumpthebigbabyhuey
Deflection, deflection, deflection. Kellyanne rattles on about the Emmys while the rest of us talk about how Mueller is closing in.
LOL!!!!
Oh, Kellyanne. We all know you’re jealous you weren’t invited up on stage. Sour grapes, kitten.
Speaking of Kellyanne Conway both Donald Trump Jr. and Kellyanne Conway eliminated their Secret Service yesterday. What is going on with that?
Maybe they are about to be arrested. I don’t think the Secret Service would protect them if they are in a jail cell
We can only hope. I”m waiting for them all to go to jail, especially DUMP!!!!
And Secret Service could be called to testify. Donnie Jr isn’t the President.
IDK about KAC, but Junior avoiding SS sounds like he just wants privacy for covering up Russia stuff.
As for KAC, maybe she just isn’t important enough anymore?
They don’t have secret service protection anymore???
Pumpkin – their SS protection was a special request, not mandatory. Adult children and Staff generally don’t get SS. So they’re just opting out. Junior’s opting out is shady though. KAC might just be tired of it, or not important enough anymore, or maybe she’s preparing to leave the WH?
Thanks @Rapunzel ! And I agree w/ your observations.
The Secret Service was almost out of money from Trump and his family traveling way too much. Maybe eliminating Junior and Kellyann Conwomans protection is part of the new budget
Nice theory, Honey, but if you were right I think Eric would be losing protection too. And Tiffany. The fact they aren’t says this isn’t a budgetary decision.
ETA: NYT has an article specifying that Junior is “seeking privacy” (read: Freedom to destroy incriminating evidence ) with this decision.
I agree Rapunzel, he’s trying to do something without eyes on him.
Weren’t they also being made to spend (taxpayers’) money renting rooms in Trump’s hotels when they travelled?
Sure Kellyanne, have a seat.
YES. On an isolated island with no human contact no technology. Only coconuts.
And snakes.
Republicans sound ridiculous blaming “liberals” for falling ratings and viewership of movies. There are a lot of options now. You don’t have to be home on Tuesday at 8 to see your favorite show. You can watch it 3 days later. With more cable stations and services like Netflix there’s a lot of shows to choose from. Movies were just bad this year. Also add the costs to go to the theater, many wait to rent. It used to be at least 6-8 months now it’s about 3-4.
But they blame “liberals” for everything. The comments in my city’s newspaper are a seething mass of right wing anger and hatred and vitriol. I don’t know how people live with so much hate. And Kellyanne knows how to stoke it.
I’ve noticed that about comment sections in general and that is one reason I choose not to read them because of the hate and vitriol spewed. It’s like a nest of angry hornets swarming. I wonder how these people live with themselves.
Esmom- Forget hate. I don’t know how Right Wingers live with so much ignorance, stupidity and denial of facts. They’re so hypocritical in their hate, which is what really gets me.
I’m confused. Republicans control Congress, the senate and have their nominee as president; a man whose “great deals” and “winning until you’re tired of winning” fixed all the country’s problems on the first day, “maybe the first hour”.
What do they have to complain about? Do only certain banks in your area accept liberal tears in payment to stop them foreclosing on homes?
Rapunzel, I agree that the ignorance is also apparent but it’s the level of anger and hate that always strikes me. Just recently one guy commented about a police chase in a robbery attempt — the perpetrators apparently were wearing bulletproof vests — that he wished he’d been there because “he would have shot them in the head.”
Last weekend I found myself entangled in an exchange on Twitter with a Trump supporter. She (I’m pretty sure it was a woman) kept coming at me with hateful responses to something I’d commented on. I kept answering her back with measured replies and facts. By the end she gave me a “thumbs up” and we moved on in a civil way. It made me think that the hateful rhetoric has been programmed into these people but that with the right message maybe hearts and minds can be persuaded that Trump isn’t what we need.
I think it’s all comment sections. I mean, I live just outside NYC and the comments are super right wing and very pro Trump. My friends that live in places like Boston, Baltimore, DC and Philly say the same thing. And I don’t think that they are mostly bots, either. If you go to their profiles, they are real people- a lot of them older or, let me say this diplomatically, very stereotypical. I think those are the only people who comment on local news pages. I think liberal leaning or moderate leaning people don’t even bother anymore. My dad and step mom comment on local news stories all the time, which is how I see this (they live on Long Island and that area is VERY pro Trump). So don’t even let it get you down. I know those two are crazy! My husband’s childhood friend is one who comments on things like “run those protesters down” “so proud to have a real president” “so proud to have a classy first lady” “moochelle” obummer” “libtard” “snowflake” and this guy is a divorced, pushing 40 sad sack who lives in a filthy house and lost his job at an accounting firm because he showed up to work drunk and now works at Walgreens. So just remember when you see this comments, it usually old people set in their hateful ways (not all old people btw!), crazy Long Islanders like my dad, or sad sack douche bros lol.
Moon Beam, good points, lol. Although I do know of one local commenter from my neck of he woods who is a respected attorney. His anonymous profile was “outed.” He seems somewhat intelligent and decent in real life, albeit with a libertarian chip on his shoulder, but seems to use the comments pages to air his truly hateful side.
Those are the really dangerous people among us because you usually don’t see their dark sides. Crazy how Trump has pretty much normalized it now.
+1
It pains me to say this, but f**k Colbert for bring Spicer out on that stage. And f**k all the other celebs(I’m looking at you James Corden) who were kissing is butt.
But, I will say this, Spicer’s appearance proved what we all have been saying: Any one of those dumpster fires in the Trump administration would KILL to be in a room full of celebrities. Just look at Sean stupid face. If Kellyanne received the same invite, she and her fried hair would be on that stage before Trump could tweet “SAD!”.
Truth.
TRUMP would kill to be in that room again.
Funny you should mention that Corden git, Jenns. It’s almost 11:30pm here, and his bloody show, a couple of days old, I suppose, has just started. (Yep, he just mentioned the Emmys being on “last night”). I’m turning it off now. I cannot stand Corden, and I usually love Poms.
I haven’t watched any of the too many “pat me on the back” award shows in years. They’re ridiculous and silly. I had to laugh when Kellyann mentioned that Trump didn’t pay attention and wouldn’t care about Baldwin winning the award for the imitation that Trump bitched,ranted, and raved about all season, because he was too busy working to make our country better. Yeah right, Kellyan. All he does is watch TV
I’m not really sure what the White House has to be upset about – yes, there was a lot of political skewering during the show. But then all of those people invited one of the supposed butts of the joke to the after party and all of them lined up to pose with him to have their picture taken with him, like he was someone’s goofy brother who says crazy shit but that is still fun to party with.
Sorry, but f**k Colbert and f**k all those celebs that did that – they helped normalize Spicer at that show and they did it simply for ratings. It was a huge slap in the face to every woman and POC in that room. Spice isn’t some wacky, misunderstood man forced into a position he didn’t want and couldn’t get out of – he willingly spouted lies for 45. Over and over again – after he himself had been humiliated by his boss, after it was painfully obvious that he was knowingly broadcasting lies, after he spouted racist dog whistling and revisionist history, after he vilified the press and even after he was canned.
But it’s supposed to be funny because like, it is so meta, right??
If Conway and her boss had been smart, she should have pointed out that for a group that likes to talk about how much they hate what 45 stands for, they sure had no problem cozying up to it.
Well said. It was a terrible decision to bring him on and make it seem like his tenure with Trump was just a joke and not the horrifying and dangerous sh^tshow it was.
DT still thinks he should’ve won an Emmy. Someone needs to tell KAC that her boss would trade everything for HWood adulation. He’s a HWood wannabe, him and Bannon too.
So true. Maybe if he’d gotten an Emmy at some point it would have been enough and he wouldn’t have felt the need to run for president. Sigh.
1st night of Sunday Night Football and my Falcons were playing. I didn’t care about the Emmy’s. Bet a lot of folks felt the same.
“They got plucked and polished and some of them didn’t eat for two months, all for what? To sound the same.”
That’s rich coming from this walking corpse who existed on lemon peels and gristle for twenty years before her primetime TV debut.
Lemon peel aand gristle?
Introspection and good humor are lacking? Kellyanne, honey, look in a mirror.
LP- vampires don’t have reflections, do they?
The comics and Hollywood “elite” have a right to get political anywhere they want imo. During Trump’s rise they were often much more poignant and informative than mainstream media. The big flub was when they included Sean and gave him a pass for being a liar for Trump.
As for Conway, she conveniently neglects to admit her boss is all about entertainment and show. And I suspect she no longer has security because she was asked to pay her own way. Not being a family member I don’t know why she had it in the first place. Even Jared isn’t a “child” of the president’s so maybe that’s the reason. Or maybe having security makes it too difficult to sneak around.
Yep. These people only whine about others “getting too political” when it’s not what they want to hear.
Somewhat unrelated: but apparently I can’t even watch ‘Zoolander’ without Dump showing up.
The ratings are low because in the last few years #Emmyshavebeenmorethanwhiteandpocwinning.
Racism trumps entertainment everytime.
Broadcast TV ratings have been going down for 20 years. All the award shows have seen their audiences diminish steadily throughout that time, and it’s finally starting to affect sports like football, too. It’s easy to blame it on politics and liberals and whatever, but the reality is that broadcast TV is slowly dying. As many people have pointed out, there is so much other stuff to watch now. On Sunday night, you could watch the Emmys, you could watch football, you could watch whatever was on HBO, you could put on Netflix or your DVR. 20 years ago there weren’t this many options, but now you have so many choices, only die hard fans are watching stuff like the Oscars and Emmys. I watched the red carpet and the opening bit, then I switched to Netflix. I caught up with all the speeches and “best moments” the next day online, which is yet another way audiences have eroded. Why sit through a 3+ hour broadcast when all the relevant stuff will be online in the morning?
ETA: I also think the diversification of TV has impacted ratings. It’s impossible to watch everything now and the odds are high the stuff winning is something you’ve never heard of. The Oscars have the same issue, ratings spike in years when popular films are nominated. In years without a mainstream hit, bargain basement ratings. People tune in for what they know.
Dear Ms Conway,
Oh, where to start…
“This is something that folks in Hollywood often lack — which is introspection and good humor,” she said.
1. I put it to you, Ms Conway, that it is indeed you, your boss, and every supporter of Trumpalumpa, who lacks “introspection and good humour”, if you couldn’t see the funny side of this.
2. I would also remind you that you and your lot think making snide remarks about women and grabbing of private parts, is funny.
3. Furthermore, you and every other deplorable lack even a basic understanding of satire, and the importance of comedy in society.
4. It’s funny that you and your ilk hated the programme so much, yet continued to watch. I’m fairly sure that, like our remote controls, yours has an “OFF” button.
5. So you’re also an “advisor” to Trumpalumpa? Hmmm. You need to advise him to step down, come clean, and cop what he deserves.
Thanking you in anticipation,
The World.
I actually like awards shows and have been watching them since the Oscars were hosted by Bob Hope and in black and white. However, currently there are far too many, as others have observed. I always laugh at conservative attacks on Hollywood. These people would crawl over broken glass if they thought actual celebrities would appear at their functions. Recall the great “coup” of having clint Eastwood at the 2012 Republican Convention. They were so excited until Clint made a fool of himself [and had people questioning his faculties] talking to a chair.
Meh – The 2016 Emmy ratings of 11.3 were a historic all time low – So 11.4 isn’t much better. I haven’t watched any awards show in years. They bore me to bits.
Until Miss Bloodless gets to the bottom of the Bowling Green massacre, I don’t want to hear nothing from her chapped lips. Chop Chop Miss B. Lets wrap this up before you get popped by the Feds.
Have we met the KellyAnne bimonthly appearance quota with this and does this mean she will slink back to the basement until December? That is all I care about.
I didnt watch them because I am getting so sick and tired of everything being about Trump/US Politics and the immature name calling. It’s supposed to be about entertainment but it’s boring and repetitive. Celebitchy could take a hint!
And yet, here you are commenting on a post about politics. There are plenty of other posts on CB, feel free to read those instead.
Personally, I love that CB mixes politics and gossip – the political world does not exist in a vacuum and I enjoy the lighter side of gossip I find here. Plus the respectful, interesting, global community that has developed over the last decade (near decade I guess, I started coming here back in 2008!!) is one of the best I’ve ever encountered.
That’s what happens when you vote for a reality TV star.
Hey Kellyanne, why did you just give up Secret Service protection? I suspect it’s because you’re going to resign soon, and hide behind your attorney husband and your new DC mansion (which you picked up at a cut rate of just $8 million–pretty great, since it listed for $22 million…friends & family rate?).
Were the Emmys ever that relevant in the first place? I watch the red carpet and that’s it. No one really cares what celebs have to say about politics anyway. Most people roll their eyes and brush them off.
Kellyanne read the memo of Parsons Green. Or she psychic,lol.
Kellyanne was just jealous because Colbert didn’t invite her. She couldn’t stand all of the attention that Spicer was receiving. She told more lies than Spicer and where did it get her? Making the rounds to complain about how the Emmys are political. I also agree that it was a bad choice to invite Spicer. He is a liar who helped to facilitate the Obama wiretap lie and only quit because he got caught helping FN create a lie about Hillary and an Democratic aide, why would Colbert and the others normalize this?
If this country wasn’t being led by a incompetent man who knows absolutely nothing about what he is doing and praised WS, then there would be no need to make the Emmys political. If the Russians hadn’t hacked our election in every way that they could interfer, leading the appointment of the incompetent man who has no idea what he is doing, then there would be no need to make the Emmys political. If the press wouldn’t lower the bar and call The King of Lies and Fake News presidential every time he reads Stephen Miller’s speech from the teleprompter, then there would be no need to make the Emmys political. If The GOP weren’t sitting by being complicit and helping the incompetent man ruin this country, then there wouldn’t be a need to make the Emmys political.
Well, KC may be a gargoyle (someone, please, give the woman a grilled cheese with bacon, and a chocolate milkshake!), but the ratings suggest she’s right. The show is on track to have one of the lowest ratings ever. I think people are tuning out, for a variety of reasons, including being tired of tuning into an entertainment show only to find themselves receiving political lectures – we can get that on any news show . . .
I’m not a fan of seeing multi millionaires moan about the president. The “elite” is party why he was elected by the technician next door. Women who are self made and gotten millions acting on a screen sound ridiculous whining about a man president less than a year.
I didn’t watch because I’m sick of hearing celebs complain while they don’t live the day to day existence most people live. The “I know better” attitude has almost completely turned me off any celeb news, movies and tv. We have an elected official, everyone, including other politicians, needs to pack up the blame game and move on.