Los Angeles: Several stars like Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Indian-origin star Aziz Ansari, comedian Jimmy Kimmel among others took potshots at Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump at the politically-jammed 68th Emmy Awards.
Presidential politics made its presence felt from the word go at the Emmys. Former GOP presidential candidate Jeb Bush had a cameo in host Jimmy Kimmel's opening comedy segment. And during his monologue, Kimmel referenced Trump, specifically pointing out the man in the audience who made him a television star.
"Thanks to Mark Burnett, we don't have to watch reality shows anymore, because we're living them," Kimmel said. Burnett cast Trump in The Apprentice, the hit series that gave him a larger public profile.
"If it wasn't for television, would Donald Trump be running for president?" Kimmel asked. Bush also made the opening sketch - as the limo driver
for Julia Louis-Dreyfus. "Did you know you can make USD 12 an hour driving for Uber?" he asked Kimmel.
Bush asked Kimmel if he was a nominee, and when Kimmel said yes, Bush said, "Wow, what's that like?" Louis-Dreyfus, who won of the Emmy Award for best comedy actress for her role as US president Selina Meyer in Veep, apologised for what she called "the current political climate."
"I think that Veep has torn down the wall between comedy and politics. Our show started out as a political satire but it now feels like a sobering documentary," she said while accepting her award.
Best comedy series writing winner Aziz Ansari, said he "wanted everyone to know, after careful consideration, I Am going with Trump," demanding they remove all Muslim and Hispanic nominees from the Emmy ceremony which he said would make things so much easier "like the Oscars."
Transparent creator Jill Soloway compared Trump to Adolf Hitler during the awards ceremony, which was filled with references to the US election. Soloway said Trump is "one of the most dangerous monsters," while speaking to reporters backstage at the Emmys after winning the best director prize.
"Any moment that I have to call Trump out for being an heir to Hitler, I will." During its second season Transparent related the current state of transgender people to the situation facing Jews in Nazi Germany before the Holocaust.
Soloway said that Trump, like Hitler, has "otherized" people to gain political power, including, disabled people, Muslims, Mexican-Americans and women who don't "look like beauty pageant contestants."
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