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Emmys 2020: Anthony Anderson asks Jimmy Kimmel to yell Black Lives Matter, viewers call moment 'awkward as hell'

Anthony Anderson asked Jimmy Kimmel to yell 'Black Lives Matter', which Kimmel does, only to be told to say it louder so that 'Mike Pence can hear it'

The 72nd Emmy Awards are taking place at an unprecedented time. With the Covid-19 situation raging hard and political turmoil an everyday thing, it's only expected for the awards ceremony to get real. That's exactly what happened when 'Black-ish' actor Anthony Anderson took the stage at the Emmys 2020.

Standing alongside Jimmy Kimmel, the host for the night, Anderson took the Staples Center stage to present the award for Outstanding Limited Series, but, before giving out the award, he asked Kimmel to smile and clap as he celebrated what was "supposed to be the Blackest Emmys ever" and added, "y'all couldn't have handled how Black it was gonna be."

Anderson added, "Instead of that sexy, melanated energy, here I am alone in a sterilized green room, trying not to sneeze on a llama…This isn't what it should have been, Jimmy!" Then, bringing politics into the ceremony, he said, "Black Lives Matter, and we're doing our best to protect Black lives. Black people are staying home tonight, which is fine because you know what? Y'all don't know how to light us anyway."

A Twitter user posted the clip of Anderson's appearance and wrote, "Anthony Anderson at the #Emmys BLACK LIVES MATTER#Emmys2020 #BlackLivesMatter #blm #Emmy." In the clip, Anderson tells Kimmel to say 'Black Lives Matter', which Kimmel does only to be told twice more to say it even louder so that Vice President "Mike Pence can hear it." Pence has openly opposed the BLM Movement and refused to say 'black lives matter' while saying 'all lives matter'. 

Twitter users were quick to react to this moment and while everyone was on-board with the mention of Black Lives Matter, they did point out how awkward the moment between Anderson and Kimmel was. One user, sharing these sentiments, wrote, "Anthony Anderson ...Um can we say just hostile & awkwardish?" while another said, "Not jimmy kimmel looking uncomfortable while anthony anderson is talking." Similarly, a different user, calling the moment 'disjointed', wrote, "The Anthony Anderson-Jimmy Kimmel bit in the Emmy’s was awkward as hell. This whole production feels so disjointed."

Many were critical of the moment and how Anthony Anderson brought it up. One such user, expressing his disgruntled feelings, tweeted, "I expected after Anthony Anderson's racist, rude and obnoxious monologue on Kimmel to be prepared at his Emmy performance. Wow, he was rude, racist and condescending to Jimmy and 'white people' beyond what's civil or funny. Made this show about black wins not enough. Pathetic." Another user, sharing similar feelings, said, "Anthony Anderson is a total imbecile. You don’t even know or care who BLM really is. You’re just a guy who ate too much and talks too loud and somebody liked that needed a certain casting type. I dare you to apologize to @Mike_Pence and really tell people who BLM really is."

There were also those who supported Anderson's speech. One of the viewers tweeted, "Anthony Anderson & Jimmy Kimmel repetitively shouting 'Black Lives Matter' was a great moment because my dad said 'enough already' and I said 'no it’s not' then turned up the volume for him."