“The only white people that thank Jesus are Republicans and ex-crackheads,” said co-host Michael Che (pictured above right) to fellow co-host Colin Jost (above left) on Monday night — kicking off NBC’s 70th Primetime Emmy Awards in a three-hour program Monday night.
Che’s shocking remark netted considerable blowback on social media.
Disgusting!!!! Shame on these celebs! Thankful I don’t watch these garbage award shows! #Emmys host Michael Che says the only white people who thank Jesus at award shows are Republicans, 'ex-crackheads'https://t.co/0Wopnq2cTQ
— AJNY (@angelaj460) September 18, 2018
This type of thing just saddens me. No surprise, though. Hollywood isn't exactly known for its Christ-followers, ethics or morality(with a few exceptions).
— Hannah (@hg_jchab) September 18, 2018
#Emmys host Michael Che says the only white people who thank Jesus at award shows are Republicans, ‘ex-crackheads’.
Keep it up. America is shifting further and further to the right.
— Ryan Fournier (@RyanAFournier) September 18, 2018
Nothing stated never surprises me at this point from this group of desperate lost souls. So judgmental!
Emmys host Michael Che says the only white people who thank Jesus at award shows are Republicans, 'ex-crackheads'https://t.co/n6O31XRydU
— Cyn (@itlebfne) September 18, 2018
@mykill5455 @ColinJost @nbcsnl The Jesus comment was uncalled for. Out of a room full of rich and privileged ppl, Jesus is the joke u thought up? Bad taste & disrespectful.
— Jilly~Bean (@JylTracy) September 18, 2018
The opening of the show featured a skit and show tune poking fun at the television industry’s less-than-perfect attempts at inclusion, called “We Solved It.”
The gist of the number was that though the television industry is making efforts at being more inclusive, it’s not yet arrived at its goal.
In a prerecorded piece called “Reparation Emmys,” Che gave actors Marla Gibbs, Jimmy Walker, Kadeem Hardison, Jaleel White, Tichina Arnold, and John Witherspoon genuine Emmy trophies retrospectively for their work.
Despite the purported goal of celebrating diversity — the jokes and skits focused heavily on race.
Another race-based joke poked fun at actors Geoffrey Owens and actor Bryan Cranston.
The “joke” was that Cranston won his impressive collection of Emmys only because he is white, and that otherwise, he would be bagging groceries at Trader Joe’s.
Geoffrey Owens, who played Elvin Tibideaux on “The Cosby Show” as a young man, recently made headlines when a fellow shopper took photos of him working at a Trader Joe’s in New Jersey — photos that quickly went viral.
During the “We Solved It” number and several times throughout the show, Roseanne Barr became a target.
At one point, Colin Jost, who was making a joke about shows that had been canceled by one network and picked up by another, threw a stinging barb at the 65-year-old comedian and fans of her recently canceled show.
Related: Thank You Jesus Was An Emmys Theme — Not Everyone Is Laughing
He “joked” that “’Roseanne’ was canceled by herself and picked up by white nationalists.”
The Roseanne hatred didn’t end there. It continued with Che’s “joke” that he had heard Roseanne was moving to Israel.
The sorry punchline was: “How messed up is your life when you have to go to the Middle East to find peace of mind?”
In yet another jab at Roseanne tinged with a comment on racial and police brutality, Che said, “You know how great an actress you have to be to get nominated for ‘Roseanne’ now? That’s like nominating a cop for a BET award.”
James Corden, who presented an award for Best Directing in a Limited Series, carried on with the diversity theme by joking about getting #EmmysSoWhite trending.
Related: Emmy Hosts on Monday Night Take Shots at Trump and Conservatives
It was unclear if his joke was a reference to the bulk of Emmy winners, at least up to that point of the night, being white — or to 96-year-old Betty White, who had appeared before he went on stage.
Whichever it was, neither awards nor skits nor jokes stole the show during 2018’s Emmys.
This year, a pop-up proposal got top billing.
In a first for the Emmys, while on stage accepting his award for Best Director for a Variety Special, director Glenn Weiss proposed to girlfriend Jan Svendsen.
Svendsen accepted.
Michele Blood is a Flemington, New Jersey-based freelance writer and a regular contributor to LifeZette.
Join the Discussion
COMMENTS POLICY: We have no tolerance for messages of violence, racism, vulgarity, obscenity or other such discourteous behavior. Thank you for contributing to a respectful and useful online dialogue.