While there were a few Latinx nominees like actress Alexis Bledel and director Nadia Hallgren up for awards during the Creative Arts Emmy Awards, which were held over four nights this past week, Latinx talent was sorely missing from Sunday evening’s biggest Emmy event.
The 72nd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards, held virtually for the first time because of COVID-19, announced 23 prizes Sunday night. Of the 123 total nominees in the 18 major categories for individuals (acting, directing and writing), Latinx representation was at an absurd zero nominees.
With no nominees for the Emmys most sought-after prizes of the year, actor John Leguizamo boycotted the virtual awards show.
“If you don’t have Latin people, there’s no reason for me to see it,” Leguizamo told Yahoo. “It’s unbelievable that our stories aren’t being told and there’s one reason for that. Executives don’t see us, don’t get us–don’t care about us.”
Some of the series that Latinx supporters say were overlooked or ignored were the critically acclaimed shows One Day at a Time, Vida, and Gentefied, which carry RottenTomatoes scores of 100%, 100%, and 91%–respectively–for their most recent seasons.
Fans of the series Schitt’s Creek were more than pleased when the show swept all seven comedy categories Sunday night, including Outstanding Comedy Series and awards for Eugene Levy (Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series) and Catherine O’Hara (Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series).
In the drama categories, the big winners of the evening were Succession for Outstanding Drama Series, Jeremy Strong (Succession) for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series and Zendaya (Euphoria) for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series.
Leading the nominees this year was the limited series Watchmen with 26 nominations. It ended the week with 11 awards, including three on Sunday night: Outstanding Limited Series or Movie and awards for Regina King (Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie) and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie).
For a complete list of Emmy winners Sunday night, click here.