(Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
Sunday night’s Emmy Awards have been criticized for its lack of diversity by TV fans and celebrities alike, but no one had harsher words for the telecast than Damon Wayans. The actor and comedian fired off a series of tweets during the awards show, which he called a “celebration of whiteness.”
“Has anyone Black won any gold tonight?’” he started off by asking, later adding, “it’s a damn shame there are more Black people in the White House than there is in the entire prime time TV line up in network and cable television!”
He continued his live-tweeting rant with, “this is America and we all contribute to it and that is not reflected in the Emmys.”
He saved his most damning comment for the end of the telecast, after both Don Cheadle and Kerry Washington lost out on awards. “The networks are confusing Americans that people other than whites don’t exist or matter.”
Indeed, this was the second year in a row without a single Black winner for any acting award, despite a number of actors of color headlining popular shows. Washington was believed to be the frontrunner for the Best Actress in a Drama Series award — she would have been the first Black woman in history to win — but lost to Homeland’s Claire Danes, who took home the prize for the second year in a row.
