“We didn’t know!”: The Emmys Get a Well Deserved Finger from John Oliver After Massive Disrespect to His Late Dog On-Stage

Award ceremonies these days are a huge deal on social media, full of everything from hilarious moments to the downright bizarre and controversial. The winners’ speeches usually get a lot of attention, but things can go south quickly if something goes really wrong.

Still from Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (Credits: HBO)

At the last Emmys, John Oliver tried to pay tribute to his late dog during his speech, and it was really touching. But, he got cut off before he could finish because the production team jumped the gun. They quickly came up with some excuses for what happened.

John Oliver’s Emmy Speech Was Cut Off At The Wrong Time

John Oliver in Last Week Tonight (Credits: HBO)

Lately, award shows are buzzing online for more than just the stars, their outfits, or who wins the trophies. Take the 2022 Oscars, for example — Will Smith‘s slap at Chris Rock is still one of the most talked-about moments.

Recently, another awkward episode made its way into the list of unexpected situations. John Oliver, winning his eighth consecutive Emmy for Last Week Tonight in the Best Scripted Variety Program category, was uncomfortably interrupted while he was giving a heartfelt thanks to his late dog.

The presenter was in the middle of sharing a heartfelt message about his late pet when the band began to play, signaling the end of his speech. Interruptions like this aren’t unusual at awards shows, especially since there’s a tight schedule and some winners tend to give lengthy speeches.

The Emmy’s executive producer, Dionne Harmon, however, weighed in on this particular situation, explaining to The Hollywood Reporter that the whole thing was a complete accident:

We had no idea that the dog that he was talking about had passed away. If you look back, you’ll notice that we turned the music down the moment he said the dog had passed. We didn’t know!

According to Harmon, Oliver’s past Emmy appearances have been pretty funny, and he’s had to be cut off more than once. Still, she admitted that interrupting winners’ speeches isn’t pleasant, even if it’s sometimes necessary.

Since Oliver is known for his comedic chops, the audience’s reaction helped keep the situation from getting even more awkward. He did let out a curse, but it was clearly just a nervous reaction to the embarrassing moment.

The Emmys Also Had A Few Other Unexpected Moments

Emmy Award – Credits: Bill Ingalls/CCA 2.0 (Credits: Wikimedia Commons)

In the same edition, it wasn’t just Oliver’s speech that grabbed attention. Harmon also addressed other issues in the same interview, like the empty seats and why the Best Comedy category ended up closing the awards, instead of the usual Best Drama category.

It seems that a lot of what happens isn’t planned out in advance, and the fact that it’s a live broadcast makes that even clearer.

The Bear was the favorite to win in its category, but it was unexpectedly beaten by Hacks, and the production team wasn’t aware of the result. Despite this surprise, the plan was just to end the show with a memorable moment featuring the Schitt’s Creek cast, including co-hosts Eugene Levy and Dan Levy, along with Catherine O’Hara and Annie Murphy.

Also, the issue with empty seats at the awards was mainly due to the complex logistics of the event. With a lot of winners, like Shōgun, it was challenging to fill the seats during the ceremony without causing congestion. To avoid this, they only insert seat fillers during commercial breaks.

The absence of some names in the classic In Memoriam segment was also noticed, but the production team said they weren’t responsible for it. The Television Academy provides the list, and the production’s role is just to broadcast it.