John Mulaney’s Censored Emmy’s Speech Is a Comedic Masterclass

Award ceremonies are pretty silly, especially those that are honoring the creative arts. It’s nice to see people get recognized for their creativity and talent, but so much of it is subjective. Still, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t tune in to shows like that fairly regularly. It’s just as easy for me to get excited when someone I wanted to win does just that. But I also love it when someone can come in and look at how ridiculous everything is and just drink from that well. Likely to the surprise of no one, Conan O’Brien is the first such person who comes to my mind.

While O’Brien has certainly made waves hosting the Oscars in recent years, one of his earlier efforts doing such a thing involved presenting at the 2003 Emmys. He came out on stage in a bedazzled white tuxedo accompanied by several backup dancers and was preparing for a big musical act when… he was cut off because Gary Shandling ran too long in one of the earlier segments. Conan is crushed and plays the moment so well, sadly walking forward to read the teleprompter with his now-unused tap shoes click-clacking.

The bit perfectly undercuts the self-seriousness of shows like the Emmys, and John Mulaney had a similar accomplishment this past Monday. The comedian was presenting the award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama series and used the time to jokingly lament the lack of male representation in the industry. He addressed all of the nominees like a bunch of bros and, eventually, drew inspiration from an unexpected source. “I believe it was DJ Khaled who said, ‘Real men don’t go down on their wives.’ But these nominees know that that is BS. They know there’s often less pressure on them if they do that first.”

That joke was bleeped, but you can watch the whole presentation below, and you should, because it’s hilarious. And to make it even more impressive, Mulaney ends it by pulling out a copy of character actor Frank Vincent’s autobiography, A Guy’s Guide To Being A Man’s Man, which he borrowed from the Glendale public library. But in true Mulaney fashion, he actually draws something very genuine from the book, flipping everything on its head at the last moment.

Few are better at things like this than John Mulaney. He’s not going to walk in and act like what is going on isn’t inherently ridiculous. And we love him for it.