Emmys 2017: 9 Unmissable Moments From The 69th Emmy Awards

It was an eventful evening.
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This year’s Emmy Awards were one of the most memorable yet thanks to a certain former White House press secretary putting in an appearance, some truly inspiring winners - and speeches - and a film reunion we didn’t even know we needed until it became a thing.

Here are the 9 most unmissable moments from the 69th Emmy Awards.

1. The actual Sean Spicer turned up

The most controversial moment of the night came when host Stephen Colbert brought out former White House press secretary Sean Spicer onto the stage to troll his old boss, President Trump.

Spicer then questioned the size of the Emmys’ audience - in a nod to his former job, where he lied about the number of people at Trump’s inauguration. “This will be the largest audience to witness an Emmys, period,” he proclaimed.

Cue collective disbelief from the celeb audience…

everyone's reactions when Sean Spicer came out on stage at the #Emmys pic.twitter.com/YflwBFSnsH

— Spencer Althouse (@SpencerAlthouse) September 18, 2017

And his appearance didn’t go down with viewers…

Trying to normalize Sean Spicer already? #Emmys pic.twitter.com/47SEoUKNfj

— Gabe Ortíz (@TUSK81) September 18, 2017

I'm not ready to laugh "with" Sean Spicer. I think he is an evil, opportunistic liar that hurt our country.

— Zach Braff (@zachbraff) September 18, 2017

Hey remember that time when Sean Spicer blatantly lied from behind the White House podium? It's now a punch line...that he is in on!

— Matt Viser (@mviser) September 18, 2017

2. That ‘9 To 5’ reunion (complete with a dig at Trump)

.@LilyTomlin, @DollyParton, and @Janefonda take a not-so-subtle jab at Trump at the #Emmys pic.twitter.com/Vl33e4oxS2

— Variety (@Variety) September 18, 2017

Thirty-seven years after their feminist comedy classic hit the big screen, the ‘9 to 5’ stars reunited to present the award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie (which went to Alexander Skarsgård for ‘Big Little Lies’).

“Back in 1980, in that movie, we refused to be controlled by a sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot,” Jane Fonda told the audience, to which Lily Tomlin responded: “And in 2017 we still refuse to be controlled by a sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot.”

3. Lena Waithe’s inspiring acceptance speech

The actress and writer took to the stage with Aziz Ansari to accept the Emmy for writing the ‘Thanksgiving’ episode of ‘Master Of None’. The episode deals with Lena’s character Denise coming out to her family and was based on her own real-life experience.

In her emotional speech she paid tribute to the LGBTQIA community, who she told: “The things that make us different, those are our superpowers - every day when you walk out the door and put on your imaginary cape and go out there and conquer the world because the world would not be as beautiful as it is if we weren’t in it.”

4. Anna Farris and Allison Janney giving everyone #FriendshipGoals

Kevin Winter via Getty Images

In her first public appearance since splitting from husband Chris Pratt, Anna Faris stunned on the red carpet in a embellished purple gown before taking to the stage to present the gong for Outstanding Variety Special.

Her ‘Mom’ co-star, Allison Janney was by her side for support, and pulled her in close as they playfully ribbed each other on comedic timing.

5. Best Supporting Actress nominee Jackie Hoffman refusing to pretend she wasn’t upset she didn’t win

We all love watching the fixed-grins on the faces of nominees as the winner is read out, in case we spot even the slightest smidge of resentment/disappointment. But after losing out to ‘Big Little Lies’ star Laura Dern in the Best Supporting Actress category, ‘Feud’ star Jackie Hoffman couldn’t hide her disappointment, shouting “Damn it!” as Laura’s name was called.

She still hadn’t got over it hours later, when she tweeted: “Laura Dern had famous parents. Forgive me for being from real people #elitism #Emmys2017

Laura Dern had famous parents. Forgive me for being from real people #elitism #Emmys2017

— Jackie Hoffman (@JackieHoffman16) September 18, 2017

6. Someone at the Television Academy mixing Up RuPaul with another black Emmy winner

Twitter

Didn’t the Oscars ‘Hidden Fences’ mix-up not teach the Academy anything? Evidently not. As the stars arrived on the red carpet, the Emmys’ official Twitter account sent out a tweet congratulating RuPaul Charles on scoring a second nomination for Outstanding Reality-Competition Program for ‘Drag Race’.

The only problem was instead of posting a photo of the legendary drag queen, they shared a (quickly deleted) picture of musical director Rickey Minor instead. *Facepalm*

7. Nicole Kidman’s winner’s speech shining a light on domestic abuse

Nicole Kidman thanks the #Emmys for "shining a light on domestic abuse" https://t.co/fQHkjymk9C pic.twitter.com/Wn6ZusqRfW

— Hollywood Reporter (@THR) September 18, 2017

After winning the Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie Emmy for her performance as a domestic abuse victim in ‘Big Little Lies’, Nicole Kidman ended her speech with a word of awareness for victims of violence.

“We’ve shone a light on domestic abuse,” she said. “It is a complicated, insidious disease. It exists far more than we allow ourselves to know. It is filled with shame and secrecy, and by you acknowledging me with this award, it shines a light on it even more. So thank you, thank you, thank you. I bow down to you.”

8. Speaking of Nicole Kidman…

After her ‘Big Little Lies’ co-star Alexander Skarsgård won Best Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie, Nicole planted a congratulatory kiss ON HIS LIPS. Tbh, we would have done the same.

9. James Corden cosying up to Sean Spicer

A post shared by Variety Magazine (@variety) on

Considering how often James Corden has laid into the Trump administration on ‘The Late Late Show’, many a Twitter eyebrow was raised over this snap of him getting up close with former White House press secretary Sean Spicer backstage at the awards.

Tracee Ellis Ross in Chanel
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Viola Davis in Zac Posen
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Nicole Kidman in Calvin Klein
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Sarah Paulson
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Laverne Cox in Naeem Khan
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Lea Michele in Elie Saab
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Reese Witherspoon in Stella McCartney
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Laura Dern
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Shailene Woodley in Ralph Lauren
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Anna Chlumsky in Sachin and Babi
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Millie Bobby Brown in Calvin Klein
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Yara Shahidi in Prada
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Issa Rae in Vera Wang
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Mandy Moore
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Jessica Lange
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Padma Lakshmi in Christian Siriano
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Uzo Aduba in Sally LaPointe
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Julianne Hough in Marchesa
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Samantha Bee in Rubin Singer
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Rashida Jones
Samantha Bee in Rubin Singer
Kate McKinnon in Narciso Rodriguez
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Sofia Vergara and Manolo Gonzalez Vergara
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Thandie Newton
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Jessica Biel in Ralph and Russo
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Shannon Purser in Sachin and Babi
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Heidi Klum
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Kristin Cavallari in KaufmanFranco
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Pete Davidson, Kyle Mooney, Aidy Bryant, Mikey Day and Beck Bennett
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Ariel Winter
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Sarah Hyland in Zac Posen
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Felicity Huffman
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Rachel Bloom in Gucci
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Kiernan Shipka
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Tessa Thompson in Rosie Assoulin
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Priyanka Chopra
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Leslie Jones in Christian Siriano
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Michelle Pfeiffer
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Susan Sarandon
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Claire Foy in Oscar de la Renta
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Jane Fonda in Brandon Maxwell
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Jane Krakowski
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Chrissy Metz
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Hilaria Baldwin
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Samira Wiley in Christian Siriano and Lauren Morelli
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Debra Messing in Romona Keveza
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