Emmys Producers Address Seth Rogen’s ‘Deeply Frustrating’ Off-Script Jokes About Ceremony’s COVID Safety

The producers for the Emmys slammed Seth Rogen after the actor went off-script during the telecast to joke about the ceremony's COVID-19 safety protocols.

September 23, 2021

Emmys producers Ian Stewart and Reginald Hudlin are upset following a series of impromptu jokes Seth Rogen made before presenting the award for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy.

The producers said Rogen went off-script to discuss the ceremony’s seemingly risky COVID-19 protocols, according to Variety.

“There is way too many of us in this little room! What are we doing? They said this was outdoors. It’s not. They lied to us,” the comedian/actor/producer/ceramicist told the audience. “We’re in a hermetically sealed tent right now. I would not have come to this. Why is there a roof?”

When speaking to the magazine, Stewart and Hudlin seemed confused as to why Rogen decided to crack the jokes, particularly since he had gone to rehearsals earlier that day and had already been apprised of the event’s safety protocols.

“We have worked for months and months to make that a safe space,” Stewart told Variety. “We’ve worked with all the health authorities. We were signed off by L.A. County, we came up with a plan with them. Those tables were distanced. Everyone was vaccinated. Everyone was negative tested in that audience. And also he had rehearsed. So he knew exactly what it was. So, I just felt it was an unfortunate misdirect from [Rogen]. Because it wasn’t just our decision. This is the health authorities’ decision as well, to say that it’s a completely safe environment if you do all those things.”

“It made three months of very hard work and many, many discussions to get it absolutely right feel a little bit wasted, really,” Stewart said of Rogen’s bit. “And then we just sort of played catch up. Because we wanted the audience to know how safe it was in there. We work in this industry, we’re desperately aware of COVID. I’ve done 50 productions nearly in COVID and not have people get sick. So, it’s deeply frustrating.”

To offset Rogen’s unforeseen jokes, the producers decided at the last minute to have Cedric the Entertainer and Reggie Watts reassure the audience the ceremony was following strict COVID guidelines, and that it was mandatory for attendees to be vaccinated for the event and show proof of a negative coronavirus test beforehand.