Anthony Anderson was experiencing mixed emotions while guest-hosting Jimmy Kimmel Live! on the day that the 2022 Emmy Awards nominations were announced.
Anderson, who filled in for host Jimmy Kimmel on Tuesday, opened his monologue by congratulating the late night show’s team on its nomination for variety talk series. However, Anderson went on to point out that it wasn’t quite a joyous moment for his own ABC comedy series, Black-ish, which signed off in April after eight seasons and earned just two craft nominations for its final season: contemporary costumes and contemporary hairstyling.
“Look, I don’t want to bring the mood down, but I do have a bone to pick with the Academy,” Anderson 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.”
He then addressed his mother, Doris Bowman, who was seated in the audience, and asked her, “Can you believe that shit, Mama?” The actor continued jokingly, “Look, I’m not saying the voters were stupid for not nominating me or Black-ish or Tracee. I’m saying they’re racist.”
Anderson mentioned that three of the shows to get nominated for best comedy this year — HBO’s Barry, FX’s What We Do in the Shadows and Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building — all involve murder. “So Black-ish wasn’t nominated, but we’ve been named the lead suspect in all of those white-people murder shows,” he quipped.
“You know who else never won an Emmy? Nelson Mandela — I think,” Anderson continued. He added sarcastically, “At least I’ll always have my Oscar for Kangaroo Jack. They can never take that away from me.”
Black-ish was certainly not alone in feeling overlooked by Emmy voters this year. Among the notable shows to be shut out were Paramount Network’s Yellowstone, FX on Hulu’s Reservation Dogs, Apple TV+’s WeCrashed and HBO Max’s And Just Like That.
Created by Kenya Barris, Black-ish has earned 26 Emmy nominations over the course of its run, with its lone win coming for contemporary hairstyling in 2020. The series landed six noms in 2021, including ones for Anderson as lead comedy actor, Tracee Ellis Ross as lead comedy actress and the show itself as best comedy series.
