The fifth and final installment of the 2020 Creative Arts Emmys ran into a little snafu Saturday night when announcing the winner of Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series.
When it came time to reveal the winner in the category, a voiceover announced nominee Jason Bateman’s name for his guest role in “The Outsider,” but the FXX presentation simultanously posted Ron Cephas Jones’ title card for “This Is Us.” Viewers — and reporters, like us — were left wondering who really won.
The answer is Cephas Jones, and the broadcast corrected the mistake a few minutes later. A spokesperson for the Emmys clarified in a statement to reporters that the error was due to an “editing issue,” and that Cephas Jones is indisputably the winner.
“They announced the correct winner and it was the correct slate, but the voiceover was incorrect,” the spokesperson added.
We’re not sure about that whole “announced the correct winner” thing, but OK.
The official Television Academy Twitter account also confirmed the win for Cephas Jones.
“The winner for Outstanding Guest Actor In A Drama Series is Ron Cephas Jones!” the account wrote. “This #Emmy win is his second for his role on @NBCThisisUs.”
The flub was reminiscent of the famous Oscars mistake of 2017 in which “La La Land” was announced as the winner for Best Picture when in fact the award was meant to go to “Moonlight.” Admittedly, the stakes were a bit lower tonight.
Don’t tell that to some passionate — and confused — viewers.
“WHAT JUST HAPPENED @TheEmmys?! Who won Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series?” one user tweeted. “The screen showed Ron Cephas Jones but the announcer said Jason Bateman…and then the screen cut to a quiz question?! Honestly, you HAVE to pull it together.”
“I can’t believe it’s taking the Television Academy this long to clear up whether Ron Cephas Jones or Jason Bateman won. It didn’t take the Oscars this long to clear up the Moonlight/La La Land mixup,” wrote another.
Cephas Jones’ win comes two days after his daughter, Jasmine Cephas Jones, won the Short Form Acting category for Quibi’s “#FreeRayshawn.” This marks the first father-daughter win in the same year in the history of the Emmys.
Ron Cephas Jones seemed unfazed by the mix-up, telling reporters in a post-win interview how proud he is of his daughter.
“As a parent, nothing could be finer. Nothing,” he said.
Cephas Jones added that his daughter is with her fiancee in New York right now while he is in Los Angeles, so for now they’ll have to celebrate together over Zoom.
13 Randy Rainbow's Prickliest - and Most Hilarious - Jabs at Donald Trump (Photos)
Comedian Randy Rainbow's career satirizing politics through new, cutting lyrics to show tunes has brought him praise from the likes of Stephen Sondheim. But as Rainbow (yes, that's his real name) sees it, he hopes people see what he's really trying to do – "be as much of a spoonful of sugar as I can in these troubling times, use comedy as my weapon of choice and get people to laugh instead of cry and sing instead of scream." Here's a look at a few of his greatest hits.
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Parody Title: "I Won't Vote Trump!"
Original Song: "I Won't Grow Up" from "Peter Pan"
Message: That Rainbow won't, well, he won't vote for Trump.
Ingenious Lyric #1: "Don't waste your bad breath on me / I'd sooner cast my vote for Cardi B."
Ingenious Lyric #2: "I won't vote Trump / I don't want another four / and if someone steals my mailbox / I will build a hundred more."
Original Song: Ursula's "Poor Unfortunate Soul" from "The Little Mermaid"
Message: The "scared" president "wallows in self-pity."
Ingenious Lyric #1: "The president says, 'cut out all the testing' / a notion health officials find bizarre/ but, see, he's terribly annoyed / by all the dead and unemployed / because he only cares about his own PR"
Ingenious Lyric #2: "All your wacky, racist rants / have every pundit, pro and poll / saying you'll lose your election / like you've lost your self-control"
Original Song: "The Jitterbug," which was edited out of "The Wizard of Oz"
Message: Calls Trump a coward for "hiding in the basement" when protestors showed up outside the White House.
Ingenious Lyric #1: "His Adderall kicks in / and since it makes him kinda hyper / he acts like he's a big shot / but he's scared he'll wet his diaper"
Ingenious Lyric #2: "A commander in chief / might address all the grief / and what's happening out in the streets / But he's only a clown / so he hides underground / and he sits on the toilet and tweets"
Original Song: "A Spoonful of Sugar" from "Mary Poppins"
Message: The president suggests that a spoonful of Clorox makes your temperature go down.
Ingenious Lyric #1: "A politician who distracts / has very little time for facts / the scientists he's hired are perplexed / While Dr. Birx is 'bout to barf / and hang herself with her own scarf / he diatribes and recklessly prescribes"
Ingenious Lyric #2: "Some Pledge on your pancakes makes your coronavirus pass / if it gives you gas / try some beach in your beer and shove a flashlight up your a—"
Message: Rainbow is voicing his overwhelming love for New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
Ingenious Lyric #1: "Oh Andy, baby / you're so strong and rational / from now on I / identify / as Cuomosexual"
Ingenious Lyric #2: "Andy, can't ya see, I'm in quarantine / A nervous wreck / and scurred as heck / of CO-O-VID-19 / But you bring hope / when I can't cope / I guess I'm saying ay-ay-ay-oh, I / love you so, oh Andy"
Original Song: "Adelaide's Lament" from "Guys and Dolls"
Message: That dang coronavirus is everywhere.
Ingenious Lyric #1: "You can spray all the hand sanitizer wherever the virus lurks / but good luck finding any on Amazon or Bath and Bodyworks"
Ingenious Lyric #2: "And you click on your favorite 'Real Housewives' to put your poor mind at ease / then they blow up your phone with alerts every time they hear someone sneeze"
Parody Title: "He's Just a Girl Who'll Quid Pro Quo"
Original Song: "I Cain't Say No" from Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Oklahoma!"
Message: The song title says it all.
Ingenious Lyric #1: "He's just a girl who'll quid pro quo / blackmail's his fav'rite response / He'll badger any friend or foe / until he gets what he wants."
Ingenious Lyric #2: "He's just a fool who'll gladly throw / any old country a bone / long as they bow to his throne / since he can't win on his own"
Original Song: "The Cell Block Tango" from "Chicago"
Message: An unusual number of people in Trump's orbit have been indicted.
Ingenious Lyric #1: "They had it comin' / they had it comin' / they were the best that he could find / and then you guessed it / they got arrested / and now he's losing his freakin' mind"
Ingenious Lyric #2: "Just let Melania go free / but she's complicit / so she'll just visit / I hope for her sake, not conjugally"
Original Song: "My Favorite Things" from "The Sounds of Music"
Message: Let's just say, raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens are not of Trump's list.
Ingenious Lyric #1: "KGB play dates and absolute power / porn stars and playmates who charge by the hour / puppets at Fox News who dance on his strings / these are a few of his favorite things"
Ingenious Lyric #2: "When your life sucks / or for God's sake / when you're 'bout to snap / take comfort in knowing at least you still make the rest of us feel / like crap"
Comedian also knows that singing the praise (literally) for the president’s foes *really* gets under his skin
Comedian Randy Rainbow's career satirizing politics through new, cutting lyrics to show tunes has brought him praise from the likes of Stephen Sondheim. But as Rainbow (yes, that's his real name) sees it, he hopes people see what he's really trying to do – "be as much of a spoonful of sugar as I can in these troubling times, use comedy as my weapon of choice and get people to laugh instead of cry and sing instead of scream." Here's a look at a few of his greatest hits.