The 76th Primetime Emmy Awards on September 15 leave no doubt about how much the Emmys matter in the world of television. But despite that, the event hasn't come without drama, following the Television Academy's decision to withdraw awards or nominations for various reasons.
These withdrawals happen only in rare circumstances, usually due to rule violations or ethical issues. It demonstrates how TV shows, at any given time, also face ups and downs.
In this article, we'll look at instances where Emmy awards were taken away or nominations were pulled. Sometimes it's due to technical mistakes and sometimes because of claims.
Let's check out some moments when Emmy honors were revoked.
10 times Emmy Awards were revoked or nominations canceled
1) Dennis Miller Live nomination, 1995
It was quite a surprise in 1995. Dennis Miller was enjoying favorable ratings on Dennis Miller Live. Then it was discovered that hosts of shows, according to the rules of the Academy, could not be nominated for individual performance awards.
So they pulled Dennis's nomination, and Rosie O'Donnell ended up going to the ceremony. On the bright side, however, the show still won five Emmy Awards for writing, which somewhat blunted the pain for Miller and his team. The whole situation highlights the importance of knowing the rules about nominations.
2) Henry Winkler and Battery Park, 2000
Best known for his zany antics as "The Fonz" on Happy Days, Henry Winkler found himself in a peculiar situation in 2000. He earned an Emmy nomination for his guest work on NBC's failed comedy Battery Park, but because the show was canceled and its final episodes aired after the Emmy cutoff, his nomination was withdrawn.
Instead, that slot went to part of the Sports Night cast, namely, William H. Macy and Bruce Willis for Friends.
Winkler just laughed and said,
"The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away."
He didn't let it faze him. He finally bagged his first Emmy Award in 2018 for Barry.
3) Peter MacNicol’s Veep nomination, 2016
In 2016, Peter MacNicol was nominated for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his work on Veep. It then surfaced that he appeared in more than half the episodes of that season, putting him squarely over the line in that category.
The Academy said:
“He was subsequently included in an additional Veep episode."
Peter Scolari eventually ended up being included in the ballot and he won for Girls.
4) This Is Us costume controversy, 2017
The share of Emmy success with their drama was to be had with NBC's This Is Us. They were nominated for Outstanding Contemporary Costumes, but that 2017 nomination was rescinded when it was discovered that most of the costumes in "Moonshadow" were from the 1970s due to flashbacks.
So, the nomination got pulled, which dropped the show's total nominations that year to ten.
5) Kevin Spacey’s International Emmy Founders Award, 2017
Kevin Spacey was set to receive the International Emmy Founders Award for his work in TV, specifically for his role in the Netflix production of House of Cards, in 2017. However, when actor Anthony Rapp accused him of sexual misconduct, the International Academy took the award back.
It was never contested by Spacey, thus he never received the Emmy Awards. This is where ethical issues can distort someone's judgement leading to public scandals beyond the entertainment world.
6) Patrika Darbo’s Daytime Emmy rescission, 2018
2018 was not a great year for Patrika Darbo. Although she won an Emmy for her guest appearance on The Bay, her submission reel violated one of the basic Emmy rules, leading to its removal. Her submission reel contained clips from several episodes, whereas submission reels are only allowed to feature clips from one episode.
Later, they found out that Jennifer Bassey, the runner-up, had also done the same thing differently. Because of that, they determined there would be none presented in that Emmy Awards category for 2018.
7) Bill Cosby’s Emmy legacy, 2018
Even though Bill Cosby hasn't officially lost his Emmys, his name has been removed from the Academy website, and the bust where his name was engraved is no longer displayed after he was convicted of sexual assault.
Although they didn't take away any actual Emmy Awards, they removed him from their online presence. This reveals their stance on his TV legacy.
8) Better Call Saul web series, 2019
It seems the prequel web series Better Call Saul Employee Training hit a snag when, in 2019, it lost two Emmy nominations. It did not meet the two-minute runtime required to be included in the Short Form Comedy or Drama Series category.
Although the nominations were reinstated, the TV Academy clarified that this did not reflect on the quality of the show or Jonathan Banks, who also received an Emmy nomination.
9) George Stevens Jr.’s documentary, 2020
In one of the oddest turns of events, George Stevens Jr. and editor Catherine Shields had their 1994 Emmy wins rescinded in 2020. They had re-edited some footage from a BBC documentary about World War II, added new narration, and trimmed the original film down.
The British production team appealed to the Academy, saying they weren't credited correctly, which led to the rescinding of the Emmy Awards.
10) Andrew Cuomo’s International Emmy, 2021
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo received the International Emmy Founders Award for handling the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
However, allegations of sexual harassment multiplied in a heap pile when the International Academy denuded him of the same. They declared that they would no longer include his name in their subsequent publication proceedings.
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The 76th Primetime Emmy Awards will air live on ABC and stream the following day on Hulu. So tune in to see the stars, hopefully scandal-free, take the stage.
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