For having made a big show out of how diverse its nominees were this year, the Emmys sure have been giving a lot of awards to, you know, white people. Having evidently predicted that this would be the case, co-host Michael Che decided to right some wrongs by visiting some prominent black TV actors and presenting them with what he called “Reparation Emmys” for their unrecognized work. (Che said the awards were actually stolen from Bill Cosby, so it’s okay.)
The lucky winners—even though they probably don’t get to keep the I Spy Emmy—were Marla Gibbs from The Jeffersons, Jimmy Walker from Good Times, Kadeem Hardison from A Different World, Jaleel White from Family Matters, Tichina Arnold from Martin, and John Witherspoon from The Wayans Bros., and Che made a point to tell each one about the impact they made on him and on TV culture. It was a touching video all on its own, but the miniature running gag of the actors dropping the wrong catchphrase was—as Jimmy Walker always used to say—“dynamic.”
