The 78th Primetime Emmy Awards, hosted by “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” star Mariska Hargitay, aired on Monday, Sept. 14.
The Emmys broadcast always provides fantastic and historic pop culture moments. This year, it included records broken, a plethora of celebrity speeches like Michael J. Fox’s and comedian John Mulaney’s censored joke that is stirring conversation.
The show opened with a musical number from Hargitay before getting into the first award presented by Amy Poehler.
Here are some highlights of the night.
Reality Competition Program: “The Traitors”
Comedian John Mulaney not only announced the next award but delivered a memorable speech surrounding men not having the spotlight in television, which became one of the most sensational moments of the night — maybe too hilariously shocking for the network to handle.
“Since the creation of television, men have been historically underrepresented,” Mulaney said.
He then went on to even crack jokes at the assortment of roles in the lineup of awards, mocking that there wasn’t much variety. However, the line that topped it all off was a raunchy joke that seemed to be too much for the network to handle.
“I believe it was DJ Khaled who said, ’Real men don’t go down on their wives.’ But these nominees know that that is B.S. They know there’s often less pressure on them if they do that first,” Mulaney said.
Naturally, this line was censored by the network but made the moment even more remarkable.
After this, he announced Lead Actor in a Drama Series, which went to Noah Wyle in “The Pitt.”
Supporting Actor in Drama Series: Tom Pelphrey, “Task”
The show presented an interim skit starring Hargitay and Taylor Swift before continuing awards, answering the question of whether Swift would attend the ceremony. The skit was filmed in advance because Swift was at her husband Travis Kelce’s football game in Kansas City, Mo.
Lead Actress in a Comedy Series: Sally Field, “Remarkably Bright Creatures”
Field used her acceptance speech to call attention to current political issues revolving around President Donald Trump’s administration and Paramount’s plan to merge with Warner Bros.
“The arts matter, our voices matter, our diversity, our unique storytelling matters,” she said. “We cannot let those voices be silenced or compromised or merged.”
Lead Actor in a Comedy Series: Matthew Rhys, “Widows Bay”
Rhys made Emmy history as the first actor to win Lead Actress twice in the same year.
Bob Hope Humanitarian Award: Michael J. Fox
Next, actor Julianna Margulies presented the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award to Michael J. Fox for his advocacy for people with Parkinson’s disease. Fox delivered an emotional speech about his relationship with his career and family while living with his diagnosis.
“I understood that accepting Parkinson’s didn’t mean I had to surrender to it. It just meant doing whatever I could for people living with this disease. So, I set out to advocate for patients’ needs,” Fox said, receiving a standing ovation.
Tributes and broken records
Before the last award, country singer Reba McEntire performed a heartwarming tribute to country icon Dolly Parton who died last month.
Singer Noah Kahan also performed to honor “greatness lost” this year for other admirable celebrities that passed.
The awards closed with “Widows Bay” winning Best Comedy Series, finishing with an outstanding six Emmys won during the broadcast and 14 overall, breaking the record for a comedy series.