Selena Gomez, Steve Martin and Martin Short were the first presenters of the 2024 Emmys, and their conversation did not disappoint!
The “Only Murders in the Building” co-stars were clearly excited to announce the first winner of the night, but before that they made some disparaging comments at each other, but it was Selena's joke that stole the show!
While presenting the award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series (which went to Ebon Moss-Bachrach for his role in “The Bear”), Gomez, 32, lovingly criticized her co-stars and said that Martin, 79, and Short, 74, are “far from” childless cat ladies.
All three were finding it difficult to live together.
“The Emmy Awards! It was such a magical evening, trying to remember people's names,” Gomez joked. “And pretending we've seen their shows,” Short interjected. “And when I see an actor I don't know, I just say, 'I loved your scene with Nicole Kidman,'” Martin said. “Nine times out of ten, I'm right!”
That's when they started cracking jokes on each other.
“And Steve, I just want to say what an honor it is for me to get to work with a guy who looks like he's fallen over and can't get up,” Short told Martin, to which Martin responded, “And I also want to say what an honor it is for me to get to work with a guy who looks like a former women's tennis champion.”
Selena, who was laughing so hard she had to compose herself, said the most iconic line.
“And I have to say that it's an honor to work with two people who are far from childless cat ladies,” she joked.
All three stars are nominated for Emmys tonight.
Gomez is nominated for best lead actress in a comedy series, her first Emmy nomination. Martin and Short are competing for best lead actor in a comedy series.
Selena's reference to the childless cat lady wasn't unexpected.
Former President Donald Trump's fellow candidate J.D. Vance first coined the phrase that has now gone viral.
In a resurfaced clip of a 2021 interview with Fox News host Tucker Carlson, the Republican vice presidential nominee claimed the Democratic Party is run by “a bunch of childless women who are unhappy with their lives and the choices they've made and so they want to make the rest of the country miserable.”
Many Americans took exception to the statement, including several favorite celebrities.
Jennifer Aniston hit back at Vance's comments.
“I literally cannot believe this is coming from the potential vice president of the United States,” the “Friends” actress, 55, wrote on Instagram in July, shortly after the clip aired.
“All I can say is… Mr. Vance, I pray that your daughter is lucky enough to one day have children of her own.”
The 10-time Emmy-nominated actress also included Vance's two-year-old daughter in her answer.
“I hope she doesn't have to resort to IVF as a second option,” Aniston wrote. “Because you're trying to take that away from her as well.”
Gomez wasn't the only celebrity to mention “childless cat ladies.”
“Murphy Brown” actress Candice Bergen, 78, also poked fun at the vice presidential candidate.
Talking about her classic sitcom, Bergen said: “In a classic moment, my character was attacked by VP Dan Quayle when Murphy was pregnant and he decided to attack my character because I was a single mother. No candidate today would ever attack a single mother, so as they say, my work here is done. Meow.”
The 76th Emmy Awards — hosted by father-son duo Eugene Levy and Dan Levy — are all about nostalgia, so Bergen won't be the only iconic TV star taking the stage to honor beloved sitcoms from decades ago.
