Conway slams 'sameness' of Trump criticism at Emmys

White House adviser Kellyanne Conway was no fan of the overtly political tone at Sunday night’s Emmy awards, complaining Monday morning that the ceremony featured much of the “sameness” that she said is generally prevalent in Hollywood.

“They got plucked and polished and waxed and some of them didn't eat for two months — and all for what? To sound the same? And they have a right to speak,” Conway told Fox News’ “Fox & Friends” Monday morning. “Between the Emmys, the Miss America pageant was very politicized, our sports are very politicized, and it looks like the ratings are suffering. It looks like America is responding by tuning out because they want you to stick to your knitting.”


Sunday night’s Emmy awards were broadcast by CBS and hosted by “Late Show” host Stephen Colbert, who rose to prominence playing a conservative pundit on Comedy Central’s satirical show, “The Colbert Report,” and has made political jokes a centerpiece of his network hosting duties. Colbert joked in his monologue that “every show was influenced by Donald Trump in some way,” including “next year’s Latin Grammys, hosted by Sheriff Joe Arpaio,” the sheriff of Maricopa County, Arizona, whose contempt of court conviction related to racial profiling accusations was recently pardoned by the president.

“The Handmaid’s Tale,” a Hulu series about a dystopian U.S. set in the future that has inspired protests on Capitol Hill, won multiple awards Sunday night. And “Veep” star Julia Louis-Dreyfus, winner of her sixth straight Emmy for best actress in a comedy, joked in her acceptance speech that “we did have a whole story line about an impeachment, but we abandoned that because we were afraid someone else might get to it first.”

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One political joke that was well received by Conway was the surprise cameo by her former White House colleague, former press secretary Sean Spicer. Queued up by Colbert, who jokingly complained that “we have no way of knowing how big our audience is,” Spicer emerged with a podium to offer a riff on his infamous declaration about the size of the crowd at Trump’s inauguration, telling the shocked Hollywood audience that “this will be the largest audience to witness an Emmys, period — both in person and around the world.”

“I'm very happy my former White House colleague Sean Spicer is a man of good humor. And he’s been quoted recently saying life outside is much more relaxed,” Conway said of Spicer’s appearance. “So I'm very happy for him. This is something that a lot of folks in Hollywood sometime lack, which is introspection and good humor.”

Conway predicted that the president had barely taken notice of the fact that actor Alec Baldwin had won an Emmy for his “Saturday Night Live” impersonation of Trump but offered warm words for Kate McKinnon on her Emmy win. The comedian played Hillary Clinton and Conway last season on the show.

“I am so happy Kate Mckinnon was able to get her Emmy. I know she thanked Hillary Clinton, but it had to be much more fun to play me,” Conway said.