Emmys host Nate Bargatze ended up paying the Boys & Girls Club $250,000 due to his master plan to keep the awards ceremony short. But that donation truly came from the bottom of his heart as the comedian called the final number “embarrassing.”
The comedian announced that he will be donating $100,000 to the Boys & Girls Club, but there’s a catch. For every winner whose speech goes over their 45 second allotment, he will subtract $1,000 from that donation per second. On the flip side, any winner whose speech goes under 45 seconds will cause him to add another $1,000 per second.
“Thanks to everyone here,” Bargatze said at the end of the evening. “The number, it was embarrassing. It went way down. I don’t know I can imagine doing this again. So I’m going to CBS, who’s going to add $100,000, and I will give $250,000. It takes us to $350,000 for the Boys & Girls Club.”
At first, the gimmick started off strong. The first winner of the evening — Seth Rogen — gave a speech under the time limit, which meant Bargatze started the evening owing $106,000. But by the time Jean Smart and Katherine LaNasa won their awards for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series and Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series, respectively, the total had dropped to $98,000.
It wasn’t until “Hacks” star Hannah Einbinder won Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series that the total took a real hit. As she held back tears and declared “F–k ICE and free Palestine,” the donation dropped down to $80,000. (For her part, Einbinder said she would pay the difference.)
“I will find her later,” Bargatze said after Einbinder’s win, vowing to hold the HBO Max star to her promised donation. “She also cursed, and let me tell you, I will start a swear jar so fast.”
A few longer speeches dropped the donation amount to $74,000. But John Oliver ramped it back up when “Last Week Tonight” won over “Saturday Night Live” for Outstanding Scripted Variety Series. Oliver is no stranger to winning Emmys; the HBO series has won over 70 Emmys over its 12 seasons. So pro that he is, Oliver sped through his thank you speech as quickly as possible. But Dan Gilroy’s Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series win for “Andor” subtracted some bucks.
“Thank you Dan for helping me out for what John did,” Bargatze joked.
By the time Jack Thorne and Stephen Graham won Outstanding Writing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for “Adolescence,” the total dropped down to $36,000. Bargatze then stepped in to “cover” Owen Cooper’s win for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie, bringing the total donation back up to $60,000. Cooper made history during the awards show, becoming the youngest actor to ever win an acting Emmy.
Oliver cost Bargatze again when “Last Week Tonight” won for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series. However, Lorne Michaels’ speech for “Saturday Night Live” 50th anniversary special’s winning Outstanding Variety Special (Live) brought the total back up to $94,000.
But several of the speeches in the middle of the show clearly went long. By the time the in memoriam section concluded, the total was down to $52,000. That downward trend continued after Stephen Colbert gave his speech for Outstanding Talk Series.
“This night, it’s been great for me, because I honestly, I think I’ve made money,” Bargatze said before seeing that the total was negative $26,000. “Oh s–t, yeah, that’s tough. And kids are going to take it, so it’s brutal.”
It only got worse. By the time “The Studio” won for Outstanding Comedy Series, the count was at negative $50,000. Rogen even joked, “We f–ked over the boys and girls.”
But it all turned out OK with $350,000 going to the charity. Last Tuesday, Bargatze assured Jimmy Kimmel that the donation would come from him rather than any organization, noting that his personal commitment makes the bit funnier.
“It’s up to that room how much they want to give them, or how little they want to give them,” he said on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” “It’s out of my hands. I’m sorry to put it on, but we’ve got a TV show to get through.”
