About the 75th Annual Emmy Awards
And the winner for Best Dressed is…
The 75th annual Emmys celebrated the magic of television-making… and gay kissing (Succession stars Brian Cox and Kieran Culkin, The Bear stars Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Matty Matheson and Fire Island’s Joel Kim Booster and boyfriend John-Michael Kelly were among those who shared smooches). I’m a big and longtime proponent of gay kissing, so I found this all to be quite lovely. In fact, I’d like to advocate for more of this.
I immediately felt at ease when Laverne Cox appeared on my screen two hours before the ceremony (in vintage Thierry Mugler SS89, no less) to co-host E! Live from the Red Carpet, an especially welcome return after the Golden Globes the week prior had gone without any televised red carpet coverage. A blight on the house of E! if you ask me! It’s here we need to take a moment to give Cox, a Daytime Emmy Award-winner for Laverne Cox Presents: The T Word, her flowers.
As mentioned in my Golden Globes recap, red carpet journalism is tough. Cox has the acumen, the ease and the convivial warmth to make the often thankless job worth watching. For instance, when Cox interviewed Abbott Elementary nominee Janelle James, instead of asking her to sniff a Jacob Elordi candle, James was asked about her ability to process the success she’s had over these last few years. “I’m glad you asked that,” James responded before giving a heartfelt answer. “I’m already feeling inspired and we’re just getting started!” Cox exclaimed after James exited, making the intention of the discussions clear: We’re here to inspire. I believe the explicit stating of the intention gave the overall red carpet coverage a purpose, and even a poise, that made it not only less cringe than the Globes, but also far more relaxed and pleasant. Special shout-out to Cox’s co-host Heather McMahan who, too, did a great job keeping the train on the tracks.
Before we get to the carpet, some of the night’s biggest moments included some history: Quinta Brunson became the second Black actress in Emmy history to win Best Actress in a Comedy, 42 years after Isabel Sanford won for The Jeffersons; RuPaul picked up his seventh-consecutive win for Outstanding Host For A Reality Or Competition Program, becoming the most Emmy-awarded Black person in history; some exceptional speeches (Jennifer Coolidge thanking the “evil gays” and Niecy Nash thanking herself) and some charming, albeit mostly incomplete reunions (Cheers, The Sopranos, Martin and more).
One stand-out moment for me came during Kieran Culkin’s speech after he picked up his win for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. “Of course, my beautiful wife, Jazz. Thank you for sharing your life with me and for giving me two amazing kids: Kinsey Sioux and Wilder Wolf, I love you so many and so much. And Jazz, I want more. You said! You said, ‘maybe’ if I win!” It was an adorable speech that in many ways served as a bookend to Succession’s storied run. I, naturally, made a meme of the moment, and quickly learned that some saw this moment differently than I did.
One DM: “This is gross. The fact that you think this is an ‘aww’ moment is awful. This is a man telling a woman to keep pumping out ANOTHER kid because he won a medal.” Another DM: “It’s just that… during a time when women’s reproductive rights, and say in the matter is at risk… watching a man put pressure on his wife to have a kid publicly (whether it was a joke or not) was just really uncomfortable to watch.” This is evading the comment section, which has many variants of similar expressions. To all that, I say, “ What ever happened to fun?”
Now, let’s talk clothes. First of all, that step-and-repeat with the gargantuan FOX label? Prison, honey. Second of all, Hannah Waddingham in custom Marchesa in 2024? Wild!
That had to be the most surprising pull of the night, though not entirely unexpected with the brand’s return to the runway just last week after a four-year absence. Third of all, the D*lce & G*bbana reign continues its relentless grip, with a particular attention toward sub-par male suiting: Jon Hamm, Michael Imperioli, Seth Meyers, Jason Bateman and Tyler James Williams. I’m so sorry, guys. You deserve better!
Best Dressed: Let’s do this. I watched the ceremony with fiancé-to-the-newsletter, Billy, and our friends Maggie and Fallon. We went through every look on the carpet and rated it a 1-5 based on five categories of criteria: Glamour, Unexpectedness, Event-Appropriateness, Styling and Serving C*nt. I then took the top-scoring looks and put those to a vote by you all. I wanted to reflect not just my opinion, but yours too! To that end, not everyone made the cut. Fan favorite looks like Colman Domingo in Louis Vuitton, Lizzy Caplan in Yohji Yamamoto and Suki Waterhouse in Valentino fell just short of qualifying, but I am listening and learning with regard to finding a new, better system for the Oscars — one that allows every look to be eligible to be voted on.
The top 11 contenders were:
Ayo Edebiri in Louis Vuitton
Adam DiMarco in Dior
Donald Glover in Bode
Taraji P. Henson in Atelier Versace
Rachel Brosnahan in Atelier Versace
Jessica Williams in Rodarte
Jessica Chastain in Gucci
Natasha Lyonne in Schiaparelli
Sarah Snook in Vivienne Westwood
Aubrey Plaza in Loewe
Simona Tabasco in Marni
The data is still being tabulated in real time, but we have some clear conclusions after 7.5K+ votes.
4th Runner-Up: Sarah Snook in Vivienne Westwood
3rd Runner-Up: Aubrey Plaza in Loewe
2nd Runner-Up: Jessica Chastain in Gucci
1st Runner-Up: Simona Tabasco in Marni
Best Dressed: Ayo Edebiri in Louis Vuitton
Congrats to Ayo, who also picked up a win for Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, her third award of the week (after nabbing a Golden Globe and a Critic’s Choice), all the nominees and winners, Anthony Anderson for his steady hand as host and anyone who makes television. Here’s to you!
Simona in Marni was such a delight - more diversity of designers, please!