AMY POEHLER:There used to be a time when the awards weren’t taken as seriously.
I can remember two very specific bits.
And then another year Harvey Korman won and Tim Conway rode up on his coattails (seen below).
Credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images
It was really fun, stupid stuff.
This wasn’t the first time Poehler tried to lighten up a comedy category.
“They didn’t show in the room us on the monitors,” Poehler recalls.
“There was no laughing.
It was like doing it in a vacuum.”
But first, she had to get all the gals on board.
And it bloomed from there.
POEHLER:A couple of days before the Emmys, I reached out to all the women.
And then we’ll all hold hands."
TINA FEY:I think Amy realized, we should just be having more fun.
Who cares, anyway?
Needless to say, I was thrilled.
EDIE FALCO:I loved the idea when it was presented to me.
Mostly I was thrilled that the cool girls were asking me to go to the mall with them.
FEY:I knew I was done winning acting Emmys for30 Rockso I was relaxed.
Should you go first?"
I thought that was going to be fun.
Do you want to go?"
I had to play it very cool, like, “Oh.
Yeah, sure.”
But I was so pumped.
That was not discussed at all.
I really can’t reiterate how little planning went into this.
After the women assembled on stage and joined hands, the crowd roars and Vergara yells ‘Bravo!"
He then announces McCarthy as the winner.
Vergara hands her the Emmy.
FEY:I think Rob improvised that good joke about “Ladies, you’re all winners.”
PLIMPTON:We had to ensure the Emmy people would provide the roses and the crown.
We had the most perfectly amazing presenters in Rob and Sofia.
That was the cherry on top.
POEHLER:We were kissing her like she won Miss America!
PLIMPTON:It was great.
And I loved it.
I was really proud to be standing next to them.
Also, really silly.
I didn’t know what the hell to do with myself.
I’ve never been in a pageant before!
FEY:It was a great feeling of unity and fun.
Taking myself out of it, that category is always a murderer’s row of great actresses.
Way more consistently impressive than any other category of the night.
So it was kind of thrilling to be next to them all.
And when Melissa won, everyone was so genuinely happy about it.
LINNEY:It was a wonderful moment.
And a much truer picture as to how we all view these award shows.
The Emmys allow us an evening to celebrate each other’s work.
Both people in the business (and out) seemed to appreciate what Amy and Tina made possible.
It will always be a highlight for me.
For the most part, award shows are so self-serious, it’s like they’re curing cancer.
I was happy to be part of something that was so fun and irreverent.
Awards for things like this are irrational things.
That’s why people like Amy are so marvelous.
They help us do that.
In watching it back years later, I was very moved by us all being up on stage together.
