Emmy 2017 highlights: All about women, diversity and politics at the star-studded event

'Big Little Lies', 'The Handmaid's Tale' and 'Saturday Night live' dominated the Emmys with the most number of wins.
Emmy 2017 highlights: All about women, diversity and politics at the star-studded event
Emmy 2017 highlights: All about women, diversity and politics at the star-studded event
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The 69th Emmy Awards ceremony hosted at the Microsoft Theatre at Los Angeles on Sunday was indeed a star-studded event. But what has people talking at the Emmy's this time is the diversity in its winners’ list and the underlying political commentary.  

Stephen Colbert, who hosted Awards for the first time, kicked off the ceremony by slamming US President Donald Trump in his opening monologue.

He began with a politically charged song—'Don't worry about global warming or the Middle East cause of everything's better on TV'. Veep actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus joined him and sang, 'Imagine if your President wasn't loved by Nazis’.

Host Stephen Colbert on stage. Source: www.emmys.com

After the song, Colbert, who has never shied away from cracking jokes on politics and Trump, took the stage and said, "There are 450 scripted shows and there's no way anyone who could possibly watch all that TV, other than the President. Hello sir, thank you for joining us. Looking forward to the tweets.”

The host was also joined by Trump's former Press Secretary Sean Spicer at the Microsoft Theater.

The spotlight continued to be on politics even when others took the stage.

Among those who made history at the Emmys were Lena Waithe, who penned the ‘Thanksgiving’ episode of Master of None, Donald Glover, the director of comedy series Atlanta and This is US star, Sterling K Brown.

While Brown became the first African American actor to win outstanding lead actor (male) in a drama series in two decades, Glover became the first African American director to win an Emmy for Atlanta. Waithe meanwhile, was not only the first African American woman to be nominated for comedy writing but also the first black woman to win.

She was accompanied on stage by Master of None co-creator Aziz Ansari. They were welcomed on stage with a standing ovation. In her empowering acceptance speech, Waithe thanked the LGBTQI community in her acceptance speech.

“My LGBTQI family—The things that make us different, those are our superpowers ... Every day put on your imaginary cape and go out there and conquer the world because the world would not be as beautiful as it is if we weren't in it,” she said.

“And for everybody out there that showed us so much love for this episode, thank you for embracing a little Indian boy from South Carolina and a queer black girl from the South Side of Chicago,” she added.

The long-running sketch series Saturday Night Live dominated the Emmys by winning nine awards, including an award for actor Alec Baldwin for portraying US President Donald Trump. Kate McKinnon also won for the same show in the Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series category. The show was also deemed best in the Outstanding Variety Sketch Series and Outstanding Directing for a Variety Series categories.

Alec Baldwin accepting his Emmy. Source: www.emmys.com

Big Little Lies, a show which boasts of a team full of "incredible tribe of fierce women" was also a star of the Emmys, bagging eight wins in categories like Outstanding Limited Series, Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Limited Series Or Movie (Alexander Skarsgard), Outstanding Lead Actress In A Limited Series Or Movie (Nicole Kidman) and Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Limited Series Or Movie (Laura Dern).

This was also the first Emmy for Oscar-winning actor Nicole Kidman. During her acceptance speech, Kidman said that the show with an entertainment value is also about issues.

Kidman played Celeste, a wife and mother who becomes a victim of domestic violence at the hands of her husband Perry, played by Alexander Skarsgard.

Looking resplendent and radiant in a red gown, Kidman thanked her husband Keith Urban and her daughters for supporting her career and said she hoped the Emmy win can be a lesson for others in a way.

"Sometimes, when you're acting you get a chance to bring a bigger message... We shone a light on domestic abuse," she said.

Shailene Woodley, Nicole Kidman, Reese Witherspoon, Laura Dern and Zoe Kravitz on stage. Source: www.emmys.com

Big Little Lies executive producer and actress Reese Witherspoon said that it's been "an incredible year for women in television and women getting to tell their own stories”.

The project, which revolves around a murder investigation, also deals with domestic violence, among other things.

Big Little Lies tied with The Handmaid's Tale that also won eight Emmys including Outstanding Lead Actress In A Drama Series (Elisabeth Moss), Outstanding Drama Series and Outstanding Writing For A Drama Series.

Among actors, John Lithgow (The Crown) got the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series and the Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series Emmy went to Ann Dowd for The Handmaid's Tale. The Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series award went to Riz Ahmed for The Night Of.

Veep won the Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series; the Outstanding Variety Talk Series award went to Last Week Tonight With John Oliver, and The Voice bagged the Outstanding Reality-Competition Programme.

Priyanka Chopra and Anthony Anderson preented the Emmy to John Oliver for Last Week Tonight. Source: www.emmys.com

The event also saw celebrities like Kathryn Hahn, Judith Light and Elisabeth Moss make statements supporting the American Civil Liberties Union by donning blue ACLU ribbons.

These included Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi, Silicon Valley star Kumail Nanjiani and his wife Emily V Gordon. Several of the actor nominees took part in the statement of support, including Ann Dowd, Mandy Patinkin and Matt Walsh.

ACLU has been in the spotlight due to its confrontations with the Donald Trump administration over policies.

Orphan Black star Tatiana Maslany also wore a blue pin, but for a different cause -- her blue ampersand symbolises support for the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation.

(With IANS inputs)

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