Meryl Streep turned heads at the 2024 Emmys — and not for the usual reasons.
The 75-year-old award-winning star didn’t take home her usual stack of trophies Sunday night for her Hulu show “Only Murders in the Building.”
But, he caught everyone's attention when he reacted to a vulgar joke.
As they were presenting the award for outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series — for which Streep was nominated — real-life spouses and “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” co-stars Rob McElhenney and wife Kaitlin Olson poked fun at Streep.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we're here to honor the comedic performances that hold it all together. They show critical support when it's really needed,” McElhenney said in announcing the nominees in that category.
Olson interjected, “What you were describing sounds a lot like a jockstrap.”
'No, it's not!' McElhenney said. The “Mythic Quest” producer and star added, “These roles make sure everything is secure, without that support the whole package falls apart… well, it feels like a jockstrap.”
Then his wife said, “Are you calling Meryl Streep a jockstrap?”
The camera then switched to Streep in the audience as McElhenney said, “No! I'm so sorry, Meryl.”
Streep pretended to be upset and said, “Oh my god.”
“The Bear” star Liza Colon-Zayas won the award, making her name in Emmy history by becoming the first Latina to win in the category.
Fans on social media were divided over the joke.
“I don't know who wrote tonight's #EmmyAwards but the dialogue is disgusting. They compared Meryl Streep to a jock strap. Yeah, it's that bad,” one viewer said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
But, another viewer commented, “Meryl Streep's reaction to being called a jockstrap was amazing.”
Streep also made a splash at the Emmy Awards over her reported romance with 74-year-old Martin Short.
The two looked very comfortable sitting next to each other at the ceremony and kept laughing and joking throughout the night.
Short and Streep first sparked dating rumors after they were spotted getting close to each other at the 2024 Golden Globes in January. But, shortly after, the “Father of the Bride” alum's rep shut down the rumors.
At the time, Short's rep told E! News, “They're just very good friends. Nothing more than that.”
Short and Streep's characters on the hit Hulu show become entangled in their romance during the show's third season.
Short is a widower, having been married to Canadian actress Nancy Dolman — with whom he had three children: Katherine, 40, Oliver, 37, and Henry, 34 — from 1980 until his death from cancer in 2010.
According to Streep, sources say told Page Six in October Streep and Don Gummer — whom she married in 1978 and with whom she had four children: singer-songwriter Henry Wolfe, 44, and actresses Mamie Gummer, 40, Grace Gummer, 37, and Louisa Jacobson, 32 — had been quietly separated “for more than six years.”
“Only Murders in the Building” received 21 Emmy nominations, including Outstanding Comedy Series. Short’s co-star Selena Gomez was also nominated for her first acting Emmy for a primetime series, Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, but lost to “Hacks” star Jean Smart.
Steve Martin was also nominated for outstanding lead actor in a comedy series for “Only Murderers in the Building,” but lost out to “The Bear” lead actor Jeremy Allen White, despite Emmy hosts Dan and Eugene Levy pointing out that “The Bear” isn't a comedy.
