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Emmy Awards’ Opening Bit Pokes Fun at Hollywood’s Diversity Problem

When the Oscar nominations were read in January 2015 and not one person of color was nominated in any of the lead or supporting actor categories, it became clear to more and more people that Hollywood would have to answer for its lack of diversity. But how far has the industry really come since #OscarsSoWhite? During the opening number at the 70th annual Primetime Emmy Awards, Saturday Night Live stars (and Emmy nominees) Kate McKinnon and Kenan Thompson had an announcement: Hollywood has solved its diversity problem.

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“We’re celebrating the fact that this year’s Emmy awards has the most diverse group of nominees in Emmy history,” Thompson said onstage. “I’m gonna go ahead and say it: We solved it,” he continued, referencing Hollywood’s diversity problem. McKinnon and Thompson then broke into a song poking fun at how far Hollywood still has to go to truly achieve diversity. 

The two were joined by a star-studded cast of celebrities that included Kristen Bell, Andy Samberg, John Legend, Sterling K. Brown, RuPaul and even a guest appearance from Ricky Martin. The satirical skit didn’t stop with poking fun at Hollywood’s lack of cultural diversity, either — the cast took jabs at Hollywood’s problems with sexual assault, too. But the musical number was met with mixed reactions from viewers online. 
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While some were critical of the cold open, others thought it was spot-on. 

You can watch the full song and dance number below, and let us know what you think in the comments. 

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