The 73rd Emmy Awards ceremony was a big deal, as expected, and not only because of a handful of prizes went to Britain’s ‘The Crown’ and the Apple TV Plus series ‘Ted Lasso’, but also thanks to the usual controversies surrounding the choice of awardees.
Night’s Favourites
The scandalous drama about the British Royal Family was named the best drama series this year, with its stars Josh O’Connor, Olivia Colman, Tobias Menzies and Gillian Anderson taking home prizes for the most favoured lead and supporting roles.
The show’s ‘Princess Diana’ Emma Corrin didn’t win the best actress award - after being outstripped by ‘the Queen’ Colman - but still stole the spotlight when arriving at the ceremony in a shining yellow gown and matching bonnet.
Cast member Emma Corrin arrives at the Netflix UK Primetime Emmy Red Carpet for "The Crown" in London, Britain, September 19, 2021
© REUTERS / PETER NICHOLLS
Though less spectacular in appearance but not in a prize-grabbing was Jason Sudeikis, who took an award for his lead role in ‘Ted Lasso’ that was chosen as a best comedy series in 2021.
It was also a big night for ‘Mare of Easttown’ stars, including Kate Winslet, who was named the best actress for her chilling performance as a small town detective.
But other big wins - including an award for the best director for ‘The Queen’s Gambit’ - were marred with an avalanche of complaints about white privilege and apparent lack of diversity.
Hollywood's Most 'Hated Man'?
‘The Queen’s Gambit’ director Scott Frank was roasted on Twitter for his “unlimited” speech while accepting the prize. Frank visibly disregarded the 45-second time slot allocated for each of the awardees and simply shrugged off the music signal indicating it was time to leave the stage with an eyebrow-raising “really?” remark.
After Frank finally stopped after over two minutes, he was named the most obnoxious Hollywood person – but they don’t give a prize for that.
At the same time, many wished that it was Michaela Coel’s short but poignant speech that had lasted longer, as the “I May Destroy You” creator and actress took home an Emmy for writing for a Limited or Anthology Series. Coel dedicated her win to sexual assault survivors.
“Write the tale that scares you, that makes you feel uncertain…in a world that entices us to be constantly visible, do not be afraid to disappear for a while and see what comes to you in the silence,” the actress said.
#EmmySoWhite
Coel actually made history with her win, being the first Black woman to win an award in the category. However, all major acting trophies still went to white actors this year – despite a record number of nominations for people of colour– prompting a #EmmySoWhite hashtag to trend on Twitter, shortly after the ceremony came to an end.
The 2021 Emmys were expected to make a record for wins among black and indigenous people with 49 nominations across all categories, but the majority of them left the ceremony empty-handed, including ‘Pose’ stars Billy Porter and Mj Rodriguez, who is also the first transgender actress to be nominated for the award.
The late Michael K. Williams, who could have been posthumously awarded for his supporting role in ‘Lovecraft Country’, something many had expected, conceded the win to ‘The Crown’s’ Menzies.
Many on social media were left fuming.
Overall, it seems that Netflix was still the biggest sensation of the night, nabbing some 44 awards for its series, shows and programmes this year, followed by HBO and HBO Max with only 19 awards total.