Actors Anthony Anderson and Mandy Moore are feeling a little salty after the Primetime Emmy Award nominations snubbed them Tuesday.
The pair, who star in seasoned network series that ended this year, addressed the oversight Tuesday in their own ways after awards forecasters expected them to be shoo-ins.
During his Tuesday monologue while guest-hosting “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” “black-ish” star Anderson unloaded on Emmy voters for failing to recognize him in the lead actor category or the groundbreaking ABC comedy in the best comedy category.
After weighing in on top nominee “Succession” (which he dubbed “white-ish”) and how Kimmel’s late-night show was again nominated for variety talk series (and will probably lose again to John Oliver’s “Last Week Tonight”), Anderson took aim at the Television Academy for neglecting “black-ish,” which had been perennially nominated in some form since its debut.
“I do have a bone to pick with the academy,” he said. “You know who did not get nominated for a Primetime Emmy this morning? America’s sweetheart: Me. That’s right. Me. Anthony Anderson. And neither did my show ‘black-ish’ or my co-star Tracee Ellis Ross.”
“Can you believe that s—, mama?” Anderson said, addressing his mother Doris Bowman, who was in the studio audience.
“Now, I’m not saying the voters were stupid for not nominating me or ‘black-ish’ or Tracee. I’m just saying they’re racist,” he quipped, faulting the organization for instead recognizing murder-themed shows such as “Barry,” “What We Do in the Shadows” and “Only Murders in the Building” in the comedy category.
Anderson has been nominated seven times in the Emmys lead actor in a comedy category since the show premiered in 2015 and four times as a producer on the show. This year, “black-ish” was among a whopping 754 programs submitted for awards consideration and was recognized only in the contemporary hair styling and contemporary costumes categories.
On the other hand, Moore gently packaged her disappointment in a congratulatory note for “This Is Us” musicians Siddhartha Khosla and Moore’s husband, musician Taylor Goldsmith, who crafted the Emmy-nominated song “Forever Now.” Moore performed in character as Pearson family matriarch Rebecca Pearson during the NBC’s show’s emotional series finale, “Day of the Wedding.”
In her Instagram Stories, Moore wrote that she was “so unendingly proud” of Khosla and Goldsmith, who had been nominated for the song’s music and lyrics.
Then, in a second post, she added: “Do I wish our show was recognized in what I think was [its] finest hour? Sure. And [creator] Dan Fogelman’s brilliant writing for 6 seasons (hello THE TRAIN)? [Ken Olin’s] impeccable direction? Our insanely, wildly talented cast and crew? Yah….
“But nothing can take away what our show meant to SO MANY (us included). That’s an incredible legacy to be a part of. I will be grateful forever. #thisisus,” she said.
Moore, who was nominated once before for her generation-jumping role, was thought to be a lock for a nomination this year for what’s been largely considered her career-best performance.
Meanwhile, beloved actor Steve Martin weighed in on the omission of his “Only Murders in the Building” co-star Selena Gomez, who was the only lead star among the comedy’s trio who didn’t get an acting nod on Tuesday.
While Martin and Martin Short congratulated their young counterpart for getting a producing nomination, Martin told the New York Times that he and Short were “dismayed that Selena was not nominated because she’s so crucial” to their performances.
Gomez has not addressed the snub.
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