Congratulations, #Emmys! Social media loved you!
Well, mostly.
Certainly, there was a great deal of praise for the winners, starting with “How to Get Away With Murder’s” Viola Davis, who became the first African-American woman to win lead actress in a drama. Besides the rousing ovation she got inside L.A.’s Microsoft Theater, there were all the fans chiming in on Twitter — including Oprah Winfrey, who knows a thing or two about breaking down barriers.
“Wow , WOW! Another proud to spell my name W.O.M.A.N. Moment. Thank you @violadavis,” she tweeted.
Idris Elba, who has been at the center of some social chatter himself — to make the British actor the first black James Bond — also spoke up.
“Congrats Viola, truly an inspiration to many. Well done, so proud of you.” he wrote.
Davis, a famed stage and screen actress who has an Obie Award, two Tony awards and two Oscar nominations to her credit, got plenty of comments for her stirring speech.
“In my mind, I see a line. And over that line, I see green fields and lovely flowers and beautiful white women with their arms stretched out to me over that line. But I can’t seem to get there no how. I can’t seem to get over that line,” she said, quoting Harriet Tubman. Then she added, “And let me tell you something: The only thing that separates women of color from anyone else is opportunity.”
Viewers appreciated Davis’ eloquence.
“That @violadavis speech took me slam over he edge of my seat just now…i’m out of breath!” tweeted Chels is Right.
“Viola Davis’ speech will fuel countless young actors/writers on their way up. And serves as a reality check to everyone else,” added Anne T. Donahue.
However, “General Hospital’s” Nancy Lee Grahn, who initially scoffed at Davis’ speech — “I wish I loved #ViolaDavis Speech, but I thought she should have let @shondarhimes write it,” she tweeted — soon found herself both backtracking and defending her position.
She finally took to TwitLonger to explain and apologize.
“I apologize for my earlier tweets and now realize I need to check my own privilege,” Grahn wrote. “My intention was not to take this historic and important moment from Viola Davis or other women of color but I realize that my intention doesn’t matter here because that is what I ended up doing.”
“Transparent’s” Jeffrey Tambor, a longtime runner-up who finally took home the big prize (for actor in a drama), had plenty of fans on social media.
“That was such a lovely Tambor speech, thanking the trans community for their patience and their bravery. Excited for S2,” wrote The New Yorker’s Emily Nussbaum.
Actress Madeline Brewer was simply ecstatic.
But perhaps Joshua Topolsky, who oversees the “Tomorrow” podcast, was a little too enthusiastic.
“Tambor could definitely EGOT,” he tweeted, using the shorthand for winning the four big entertainment prizes, the Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony. If that’s to happen, Tambor, 71, had better get moving: Now that he has his first Emmy, he still has the Grammy, Oscar and Tony to go.
Tracy Morgan’s appearance got a number of people emotional.
“I have cried laughing because of Tracy Morgan before. Now, not laughing. Welcome back,” wrote EW’s Darren Franich.
Of course, for all the good vibes, what would social media be without carping and complaining? And what would In Memoriam, the annual segment honoring those who have died in the past year, be without people carping and complaining? (Like, where was Yvonne Craig? And how about Christopher Lee?)
The two are made for each other, and Twitter didn’t disappoint.
“Simpsons” writer/producer Mike Scully noted puckishly that he got in just under the wire.
Sometimes, however, it’s best to be overlooked. Take it from 93-year-old Carl Reiner. The TV legend — “Your Show of Shows” performer and writer, “Dick Van Dyke Show” producer, “2000-Year-Old Man” questioner — was just happy not to be there.
“In watching the Emmy Awards I felt the same thrill I felt viewing the Oscars,” he wrote, “when, in the Memoriam, Carl Reiner was not mentioned.”
