Comedian Nate Bargatze has defended his Emmy Awards stunt in which he warned he would reduce a $100,000 charitable donation for every second a winner’s acceptance speech ran over time.
Speaking on his Nateland podcast, the host of the ceremony said the idea to deduct $1,000 for every second beyond the 45-second timeframe “came from a real place of heart” and was meant to make the show “fun,” according to CNN.
“I wasn’t trying to put anyone on the spot,” he said. “I wasn’t trying to make someone donate money. But in my head I kind of thought, like ‘Make it fun.’”
Nate Bargatze was condemned for the “crass and insufferable” money countdown gimmick. Christopher Polk/Variety via Getty Images
He added that he thought some stars might use the gimmick to purposely over their allotted time just so they could pledge even more to the Boys & Girls Club of America.
“In my head, I pictured it as they could then go long, but then be a hero. So it was like a win-win,” Bargatze said.
He also thought some of the night’s winners would purposely give rapid speeches to boost his own promised contributions, as the host had said he would add money if their speeches clocked in at under 45 seconds.
One of those who accepted the challenge was Last Week Tonight host John Oliver, who told Jimmy Kimmel Live that he kept one of his Emmy acceptance speeches to a brisk 19 seconds just to “cost Nate Bargatze money personally.”
“The fact that it went to the Boys & Girls of America is great, but, again, it would have been fine if it was just set fire to,” Oliver said.
John Oliver won Outstanding Scripted Variety Series and Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series for “Last Week Tonight at the September 14 Emmy Awards. Amy Sussman/Getty Images
The fluctuating donations bit was still widely criticized, with the Daily Beast’s Kevin Fallon blasting the stunt as the “worst bit I’ve ever seen on an award show” and saying Bargatze’s name will be forever associated with the “atrocious, insufferable gimmick.”
Speaking on his podcast, Bargatze admitted that he didn’t explain the good-natured intentions of the stunt “enough in the room.”
“I had it in my head one way. It kind of came out another way, but the reasoning was there,” he said.
The host added that he was never “not gonna not” give money to the kids’ charity, even if the $100,000 was reduced to zero.
Ultimately, CBS, which broadcast the Emmys, provided an additional $100,000 on top of Bargatze’s increased donation of $250,000 to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America.