Emmys Host Bashes Awards Shows: ‘They’re Way Too Self-Serious’

Anita Bennett

He’s one of the hosts of next month’s Emmy Awards on NBC, but Colin Jost says he’s not exactly a fan of awards shows.

Jost, who will emcee the Emmys with his Saturday Night Live co-star, Michael Che, made the surprising revelation in an interview with the Los Angeles Times published Tuesday.

Asked if they are fans of awards shows, Che offered an upbeat answer: “I remember liking the MTV awards when I was a kid.”

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But Jost said he doesn’t exactly view the programs as must-see TV.

“Eh. I think most of the time they’re way too self-serious and focused on things that 99% of the country doesn’t care about,” Jost was quoted as saying.

He added that it would be nice to see more “fun” movies win big awards instead of “artsy” films picking up all the trophies.

“At the end of the day, it’s adults getting trophies,” he said. “Why should that be taken seriously? And remember when movies like Gladiator won best picture? Why can’t good, fun things win and not just good artsy things? They’re both good and the fun ones are sometimes a lot harder to make.”

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That answer sparked a social media storm, with some people tying his response to the Academy’s controversial decision to add a new Oscars category for popular films.

But others thought too much was being made of Jost’s response.

https://twitter.com/renan/status/1029471958436597761

https://twitter.com/juliemuncy23/status/1029457859170508802

This should make for an interesting night at the Emmys. You can catch Jost and Che hosting the show on Monday, September 17, at 8 ET/5PT on NBC.

About Anita Bennett

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