This year’s 69th Emmy Awards made history for several reasons. An actor of Pakistani descent, Riz Ahmed, won best actor in a miniseries, and Lena Waithe was the first African-American woman to win for the best comedy writing.
Unfortunately, though, the award show also proved that our country continues to normalize and accept those who are a threat to the entire country.
Stephen Colbert may have thought it would be quirky and innocent to bring former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer out during the Emmys, but it was not.
Spicer is the man who said Hitler didn’t sink to using chemical weapons in WWII and advocated that the United States continue to bomb Syria – knowing fully well that such military adventures kill civilians.
The same man called concentration camps "Holocaust centers” during the Jewish holiday of Passover.
During his appearance at the Emmys, Spicer made fun of himself and his outlandish exaggerations while he was the press secretary.
The worst part was how the audience responded to Spicer’s surprise appearance. There were gasps, laughter and kisses.
The only response Spicer deserved was silence.
James Corden, host of the Late Late Show, was caught kissing Spicer in a photo posted by Variety on Instagram. Corden has since said he is disappointed in himself for his actions, but his apology and reasoning behind the kiss is incredibly empty.
Instead of seriously understanding why people were upset with him, he continued to crack jokes and make excuses such as “Everyone was kissing ass last night. I just happened to kiss the biggest one there.” Very funny.
If Spicer is trying to revamp his image through humor and apologizing for harassing the media, he isn’t doing a great job of separating himself from those he used to be associated with. Kellyanne Conway, counselor to President Donald Trump, found Spicer’s jokes to be funny and said the rest of Hollywood lacks “introspection and humor.”
If Conway finds Spicer funny, everyone else should recoil.
I’m not sure if I’m pleased with all of the Trump bashing that happened at the Emmys solely because this time should have been spent commending those who won and the history that was made.
Instead, I feel cheated from celebrating all the great people of color who won Emmys because some white liberals thought it would be funny to have an ex-member of the Trump administration crack jokes.
I can’t help but wonder if people like Colbert or Alec Baldwin – who defended Spicer’s actions by saying he had a “hard job” – are actually on the side they say they are or if they just want everyone to like them.
Instances like this make it harder to enjoy positive media when it comes. The Emmys should not have been so welcoming of Spicer’s appearance.
mmgarbac@indiana.edu
