Photo: Cliff Lipson/CBS via Getty
Seth Rogenmade quite a stir on Sunday during the73rd Primetime Emmy Awards, and the event’s producers are speaking out.
According toEmmy Awardsproducer Ian Stewart, Rogen went off-script during his monologue as presenter for the first award of the night. The 39-year-old joked about the hundreds of industry professionals crowded into a large tent for the evening, alluding that it was unsafe in terms of COVID-19 safety protocols.
During his bit at the top of the night, Rogen quipped, “What are we doing? They said this was outdoors. It is not. They lied to us!”
“We’re in a hermetically sealed tent right now,” theSausage Partyactor continued. “I would not have come to this. Why is there a roof?”
On Monday, Stewart and fellow executive producer Reginald Hudlin responded to the remarks in an interview withVariety.
“So he knew exactly what it was. So, I just felt it was an unfortunate misdirect from him,” Stewart continued. “Because it wasn’t just our decision. This is the health authorities' decision as well, to say that it’s a completely safe environment if you do all those things.”
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This year’s awards show was hosted at L.A. Live’s Event Deck in lieu of the indoor Microsoft Theater to heedCOVID-19 concerns. There was a limited audience of nominees and their guests, and the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences also cappedthe number of people allowedon the red carpet.
On-site media, all guests, crew, and vendors were required to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination in order to be admitted, and also show a negative test for the viral disease taken within 48 hours of the big event, theTelevision Academysaid.
“And then we just sort of played catch up,” he added, noting that he and his team tried to ensure that Emmys hostCedric the Entertainerand the night’s DJ, Reggie Watts, explained to viewers exactly how the event, the tent and all attendees were in proper COVID compliance.
Stewart said they “wanted the audience to know how safe it was in there,” adding: “We work in this industry, we’re desperately aware of COVID. I’ve done 50 productions nearly in COVID and not have people get sick. So, it’s deeply frustrating.”
The figure was significantly higher than last year’s almost entirely virtual show, which resulted in a “record low” viewership number of 6.1 million.
source: people.com
