2017 Emmys: What's buzzing, what everyone's talking about

By Mark Gray 8:22pm PDT, Sep 17, 2017

The pre-Emmys buzz was palpable thanks, in part, to the fact that late-night comedian Stephen Colbert was hosting the show. But what was everyone talking about during the telecast? Who were the surprising winners? Which red carpet trends stood out? How many times did Stephen jab President Trump? Wonderwall.com is chronicling what's buzzing at the 69th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards on Sept. 17, 2017, starting with… Stephen's opening. As expected, it didn't take the evening's host long to talk about real-world issues. In a musical opening, he touched on global warming, conflict in the Middle East, racial equality and more while repeating the line, "Everything is better on TV." Very quickly in his monologue, Stephen thanked the first responders in Texas and Florida, who have helped immensely in the wake of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. "They are working tirelessly," he said, encouraging people to donate to handinhand2017.com. He then, as expected, took a shot at President Trump while saying that no one really has that much time to watch TV… "Except for the president," he joked. "Hello, sir, can't wait for the tweets." He touched on Ted Cruz's porn controversy as well. "The biggest TV star of the last year in Donald Trump… and Alec Baldwin, obviously. You guys are neck and neck… and Alec, you're up against a lot of neck." Stephen later said that Trump has influenced all TV and joked that if "Celebrity Apprentice" had won a Emmy years ago, Donald wouldn't have run for president. "In a way," he added, "this is all your fault."

RELATED: 2017 Emmy Awards red carpet

Big juicy kiss on the lips

After he was announced as the winner of the Emmy for best supporting actor in a limited series or movie, Swedish actor Alexander Skarsgard got a little lip service… from "Big Little Lies" co-star Nicole Kidman… in front of her husband, Keith Urban. Alexander was walking to the stage when he walked past Nicole, who played his abused wife on the HBO drama. The two grabbed each other by the face and kissed right on the lips. In his adorable speech, Alexander spoke about the female-dominated HBO show, telling his co-stars including Nicole, Reese Witherspoon and Laura Dern, "Thank you for making this boy feel like one of the girls." Later in the night, Nicole won her first Emmy, also for her performance on "Big Little Lies."

Surprise appearance

And the surprises started early! Sean Spicer, ladies and gentleman. No, really, the real Sean Spicer showed up as part of Emmy host Stephen Colbert's opening skit. During Stephen's bit, he joked that there was no way to estimate the size of the Emmys crowd or the show's ratings. Suddenly, the former White House press secretary came out behind a mobile press podium, much to the absolute shock of the crowd (as Hollywood is largely Democratic and notoriously anti all things Trump.) "This is the biggest audience to witness an Emmys ever, both in person and in the world," he said, a nod to his previous claim while serving in Trump's administration that the 2017 presidential inauguration was the most attended in history. Sean said it with a smile, while the crowd roared. "Thank you, Melissa McCarthy," Stephen joked in a nod to when Melissa impersonated Sean on "Saturday Night Live" last spring. Well-played, Sean, well-played.

Sore loser — or bad joke?

Some people just don't like losing. And some people HATE it. Count Jackie Hoffman as one of those people. Or do we? Jackie was up for best supporting actress in a limited series or TV movie for her performance on "Feud," but she lost out to "Big Little Lies" actress Laura Dern. Jackie appeared to aggressively shout, "Damn it!" twice when she lost… which we know because she was caught on-camera (see it here). Twitter users didn't like her reaction and let her know it. She immediately took to Twitter too, writing (maybe joking?), "Laura Dern had famous parents. Forgive me for being from real people #elitism #Emmys2017." She then tried to make light of it with some over-the-top tweets. "I hear that Laura Dern runs a child porn ring #soreloser Emmys2017," she said. Then another: "I hear that Laura Dern looted art from Nazi victims." Then another as the story picked up steam: "I hear the media actually taking my reaction seriously? Are you kidding me?"

History-making win

Death, taxes and Julia Louis-Dreyfus winning Emmys. The actress, a national treasure, once again won the award for outstanding lead actress in a comedy series (her sixth in a row for "Veep"). With the win, Julia made history — not only does she now hold the record for most Emmys won by a single actor for one role (she'd previously been tied with Candice Bergen, who'd won five times for her work on "Murphy Brown"), but she's tied Cloris Leachman's record for most Primetime Emmy wins by a single actor (with eight). "This is and continues to be the role of a lifetime," Julia said during her acceptance speech. She then joked about a potential storyline for the upcoming season, saying it hit a little too close to home. "We did have a whole story about impeachment but we abandoned that because were were worried someone else might get to it first."

"9 to 5" reunion

Now that was a reunion! In 1980, "9 to 5" was released. At the 2017 Emmys, its stars — Lily Tomlin, Dolly Parton and Jane Fonda — reunited to present the award for best supporting actor in a limited series or movie. Jane spoke about wanting to reunite with the girls for years, recalling their film about women who refused to be controlled by a man who was a "sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot." Lily then said that in 2017, they will continue to fight against being controlled by a "sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot." Do we even have to say who that was directed at (cough, cough, paging the White House). Political innuendo aside, it was great seeing these women together again.

Ben Affleck went to the Emmys with his girlfriend

Ben Affleck is a box office star, no doubt, but at the Emmys, it was his girlfriend, Lindsay Shookus, who was top dog — and he couldn't be happier for the "Saturday Night Live" producer. (Her show won best variety sketch series — that's her backstage with her Emmy, second from left). Yep, Ben was there on Sunday night — he was spotted by Lindsay's side at the Emmys playing the part of plus one. Ben and Lindsay are now awards-show official, so you know it's getting serious. The couple kept it low-key though, skipping the red carpet altogether. See him walking with her here.

Getting personal

What a night for Donald Glover! The star won the Emmy for best comedy series directing early in the night and then later took home the Emmy for best lead actor in a comedy series. In his second speech, the normally super-private (like, incredibly private) actor revealed that he is expecting another child with his longtime girlfriend. Up until now, his girlfriend's name wasn't even known. Apparently, the Emmys stage is where you bare your soul! "I want thank Michelle, my partner — you love me even when how crazy I get," he said. "I want to thank my baby, my son, for just being the joy in my life. I want to thank my unborn son — we're listening to Stevie tonight."

Off-script quip trends on Twitter

Dave Chappelle went totally off-script while presenting the award for best comedy series directing (which was won by "Atlanta" star and director Donald Glover) — and one of his quips started trending on Twitter. The comedian presented with Melissa McCarthy, so you knew immediately that things had the potential to go off the rails. "It's an honor to be here, and I'm so happy to see how many black people are here. I counted 11 on the monitor," he joked as the crowded roared. "I should also tell you that I skipped rehearsal." Melissa joked that things were going exactly according to plan (while CBS producers were likely having a small panic attack). "We're going to read this teleprompter. Shoutout to DC public schools," he joked. Later in the show, when John Oliver accepted the Emmy for best writing for a variety series for his team at "Last Week Tonight With John Oliver," he too mentioned Dave's DC public schools comment in hopes it would trend on Twitter. It did. Is it too early to nominate Dave to host next year's Emmys?

Expecting?

Are Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Hilarie Burton expecting? It seems like it. The "The Walking Dead" actor walked the Emmys red carpet with his wife and kept his hand on her belly… like most expecting couples do (and yes, she seemed to have a hint of a baby bump underneath her loose-fitting dress). They didn't officially confirm that they are going to be parents again, but maybe they didn't have to. Consider this a pre-congrats, you two.

Blue ribbons explained

The Emmys aren't just celebrating the best of television. This year, celebrities are also making a statement. Many of TV's biggest stars, including Padma Lakshmi, "Silicon Valley" actor Kumail Nanjiani and "Homeland" star Mandy Patinkin donned blue ribbons to the fete to support the American Civil Liberties Union. The ribbon is meant to be seen as a symbol of solidarity and to show support for the "Stand With ACLU" initiative. Many celebrities wore blue ACLU ribbons at the Oscars earlier this year too.

Making history

A little history occurred on Emmys night: When Aziz Ansari and Lena Waithe won for best comedy writing — they took home the prize for their work on "Master of None" — she became the first African-American woman ever to win an Emmy for comedy writing. In her speech, she thanked the LGBTQ community, saying, "The things that make us different, those are our superpowers."

"Donald Trump" wins an Emmy

It's no surprise that Donald Trump was the talk of the Emmys, and he even won an award… well, sort of. Alec Baldwin won the Emmy for best supporting actor in a comedy series for his portrayal of the president on "Saturday Night Live." Upon accepting the award, Alec said, "I suppose I should say at long last, Mr. President, here is your Emmy." The comment, of course, was a dig at the prez for never winning an Emmy for hosting "Celebrity Apprentice," something that he's admitted has always irked him.

First post-split public appearance

Anna Faris chose the Emmys to make her first public appearance since splitting with Chris Pratt. The ringless "Mom" star wore a stunning purple gown as she presented the award for best variety sketch series with co-star Allison Janney. The ladies did a fun bit about on-screen chemistry. Anna didn't mention her split, nor was she expected to. Anna and Chris shocked the world last month when they announced their separation after eight years of marriage.

Staying put

Sterling K. Brown was too much for the Emmys. After winning outstanding lead actor in a drama series, the actor thanked the usual people: the TV studio, his family and the cast of "This Is Us," who he called "the best white TV family that a brother has ever had." Suddenly, the music started playing him off — loudly too. Sterling didn't budge. "You can play. Nobody got that loud music." The music got louder; they shut off his mic; they turned out the lights on him. The audience? They roared as he continued to stay there. Cuba Gooding Jr., you have competition (1997 Oscars, look it up).

A quiet moment

Cicely Tyson, a bonafide screen legend, was speechless at the Emmys. The two-time Emmy winner, along with with Anika Noni Rose, was giving out the award for best limited series and she went blank… twice. Cicely literally stopped speaking in mid-sentence both times and said she was "nervous." Anika helped the 92-year-old star through it. Memo to Cicely: We will always wait for you.

Off-the-rack dress

"Crazy Ex-Girlfriend" star Rachel Bloom did something most stars attending the Emmys didn't: Instead of wearing a gown lent by a designer, she showed up on the red carpet in an off-the-rack dress she paid for herself. "I bought this dress because Gucci's not lending me a dress," the comedy star told Giuliana Rancic during E!'s live Emmys preshow. As Giuliana looked at her as if she couldn't believe it, Rachel insisted she didn't mind paying for her lacy black spaghetti strap gown. "I love it. And I can resell it. I'm now at the place where I can afford it. I've said in an interview before, 'Oh, sometimes it's hard to get places to lend me dresses because I'm not like a size zero,' but I can afford it, so it's okay." She even quipped that fans can expect to see her dress on a luxury consignment site soon: "Take a look on The RealReal for this dress tomorrow!"

Black-and-white red carpet

While some stars made bold statements in bright colors, an awful lot opted for basic black or white — or, in the case of Mandy Moore, Regina King, Kate McKinnon and Laura Dern, a little of both basic hues. "This Is Us" star Mandy arrived in a tiered dress by Carolina Herrera. "American Crime" actress Regina donned a plunging printed gown by Galia Lahav. "Saturday Night Live" comedian Kate stunned in a sleep two-tone look by Narciso Rodriguez. And "Big Little Lies" star Laura arrived wearing a beaded black-and-white look.

Baseball fangirl

Holy fangirl! If "The Handmaid's Tale" star Elisabeth Moss wins an Emmy tonight, she'll be happy, but she'll never smile quite as large as she did last month when she met Chicago Cubs star Anthony Rizzo. "There's never a moment that will top that," she adorably told E! News during its preshow. "I will never smile that wide, even if I win." A Cubs fan, Elizabeth was at the iconic Wrigley Field in August and sang "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" during the seventh inning stretch. "It was terrifying, but a dream come true," she said. Still, it all paled in comparison to her meeting with Anthony, her baseball crush. What did they talk about? "I sort of blacked out," she admitted. "So lame, I was literally so stupid."

Secret wedding revealed

Yvonne Strahovski is a married woman! Who knew?! On Emmys night, the "The Handmaid's Tale" star revealed that she and "Bloodlines" actor Tim Loden secretly got married over the summer. "It was very hot," she told E! News during its red carpet preshow. The couple exchanged vows in Northern California near Paso Robles. After the nuptials, Yvonne and Tim jumped in a nearby lake in their gown and suit. Congrats — and way to keep it on the down-low!

No TV

Shailene Woodley might be a TV star, but she has a hard time seeing herself on TV. No really — she doesn't own a television set. The "Big Little Lies" actress told E! News during its Emmys preshow that she hasn't owned a TV for seven years, since she turned 18. "All my friends who watch TV, I always ask when they have time to," the 25 year old said. So how does she spend her free time at home? "I'm a reader," she explained.

Toddler talk

Jessica Biel and Justin Timberlake's 2-year-old son, Silas, knows what he wants — and isn't afraid to tell his parents. His latest milestone is apparently adorable disagreement. "He's saying to me, 'No, no, Mommy, we are not going to do this anymore,'" she told E! News during its Emmys preshow, adding that his other new saying is, "'This is not a match,' which I think that comes from the matching game." That is one smart and opinionated tot.