The Television Academy fired back at Donald Trump's claim that the Emmys are rigged. And celebrities are backing up the annual awards show.

In a tweet earlier this week with a link to its voting process, the academy said: "Rest assured, the Emmys are not rigged."

The Television Academy tweeted after Wednesday's debate in response to past claims from Donald Trump that the Emmys are 'all political.' (Twitter)

Ellen Seiter, a professor of cinema and media studies at the University of Southern California, says, while the Emmys "are an imperfect system" when it comes to certain types of productions and talent, Trump's past claims are "sour grapes."

"He's a sore loser in the TV industry," she said.

Here's how it all came up and why it might be a factor in understanding Trump's personality.

How it came up

The response comes after Hillary Clinton said during Wednesday's presidential debate that Trump has a tendency to claim processes are rigged when he doesn't win.

"There was even a time when he didn't get an Emmy for his TV program three years in a row and he started tweeting that the Emmys were rigged against him," the Democratic presidential nominee said, referring to numerous tweets Trump had posted about the show in the past.

The Republican presidential nominee quickly interjected: "Should have gotten it."

In one 2012 tweet, Trump posted: "The Emmys are all politics, that's why, despite nominations, The Apprentice never won — even though it should have many times over."

The Emmys are all politics, that's why, despite nominations, The Apprentice never won--even though it should have many times over. —@realDonaldTrump

"Amazing Race" winning an Emmy again is a total joke. The Emmys have no credibility--no wonder the ratings are at record lows. —@realDonaldTrump

Celebs weigh in

Following the debate, the TV Academy, the organization behind the Emmys, wasn't the only one defending the awards process. Celebrities joined in, winners and losers.

Nine-time Emmy winner and Veep star Julia Louis-Dreyfus took to Twitter to back up the academy, as did her former Seinfeld co-star Jason Alexander, who joked about losing multiple times.

The Emmys are NOT rigged. <a href="https://twitter.com/VeepHBO">@VeepHBO</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/HillaryClinton">@HillaryClinton</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump">@realDonaldTrump</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/debatenight?src=hash">#debatenight</a> —@OfficialJLD

Dammit! Seven losses! I KNEW the Emmys were rigged! —@IJasonAlexander

The bigger picture

While the discussion of the Emmys provided a few laughs during an otherwise intense final debate Wednesday, it might not have had the same amount of attention had it not been for Trump's refusal that night to guarantee he'd accept the election results.

Republican Newt Gingrich, a Trump supporter, shed light on Trump's personality during the Washington Examiner's political podcast Examining Politics, just before Wednesday's final presidential debate.

The former Speaker of the House said Trump has the courage to challenge big policies, but that the presidential nominee also gets involved in "petty things that make no sense."

Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich is a senior Republican who said while he admires Trump's courage to challenge policies, he thinks Trump can be petty at times. (John Locher/Associated Press)

"There's a piece of his personality which is very sensitive, particularly to anything which attacks his own sense of integrity or his own sense of respectability, and he reacts very intensely, almost uncontrollably, to those kinds of situations."

He cited Trump's tweet last week about Alec Baldwin's impersonation of him on Saturday Night Live as an example.

"I think that's a weakness," Gingrich told podcast host David Drucker. "I hope he grows out of it."