\n\tThey say, \u201cIf you can\u2019t say something nice, don\u2019t say something at all.\u201d <\/p>\n
\n\tSo it\u2019s probably to be expected that the left-leaning Hollywood crowd at the 2025 Emmy Awards<\/a> on CBS Sunday night steered clear of bringing up the shocking assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk<\/a>, whose murder last week has roiled the nation and sparked mourning, reflection and fierce debate.<\/p>\n \n\tIt\u2019s a bit surprising that there weren\u2019t some moderate-sounding \u201clet\u2019s all come together\u201d appeals for unification in the wake of the tragedy, however. <\/p>\n \n\tWhich isn\u2019t to say politics were entirely absent from the three-hour telecast from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n \n\tHacks star Hannah Einbinder<\/a>, who won an Emmy for best supporting actress in a comedy, concluded her speech by declaring, \u201cFuck ICE and free Palestine!\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tFellow Hacks star Megan Stalter expressed similar support on the Emmys<\/a> red carpet by holding a bag which was branded with the words, \u201cCEASE FIRE.\u201d <\/p>\n \n\tPresenter Bryan Cranston<\/a> made a joking reference to \u201cdestructive woke degenerates like Tom Hanks,\u201d referring to President Trump recently slamming the congenial actor<\/a>. \u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tA few did offer vague-but-hopeful messages which might have been inspired by recent events, though just as easily could be referring to Trump\u2019s controversial policies. <\/p>\n \n\tHacks actress Jean Smart won the Emmy for best actress in a comedy and then said simply, \u201cBe good to each other.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tStephen Colbert<\/a>, winning the Emmy for\u00a0best talk series\u00a0for the first time, ended his speech by saying, \u201cTen years ago, in September of 2015, Spike Jonze stopped by my office and said, \u2018Hey, what do you want this show to be about?\u2019 And I said, \u2018Spike, I don\u2019t know how you could do it, but I kind of like to do a late-night comedy show that was about love.\u2019 I don\u2019t know if I ever figured that out, but at a certain point \u2014 and you can guess what that point was \u2014 I realized that in some ways, we were doing a late-night comedy show about loss. And that\u2019s related to love. Because sometimes you only truly know how much you love something when you get a sense that you might be losing it. Ten years later, in September, 2025, my friends, I have never loved my country more desperately. God bless America! Stay strong. Be brave. And if the elevator tries to bring you down, go crazy and punch a higher floor.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tMary Steenburgen \u2014 while accepting the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award along with her husband Ted Danson \u2014 said poignantly, \u201cLife is made up of two emotions: Love and fear. The world is a little out of balance right now. We don\u2019t want to live in fear. So we make ourselves useful for organizations that move this scale away from fear and put it smack dab in the middle of love.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tAnd Television Academy Board of Governors Chair Cris Abrego touted the power of TV for bringing people together. \u201cAt a time when division dominates the headlines, storytelling still has the power to unite us,\u201d he said. \u201cAll of us in this room must continue to champion that power and wield it responsibly in moments like this. Neutrality is not enough. We must be voices for connection, inclusion and empathy because we know that culture doesn\u2019t come from the top down, it rises from the bottom up.\u201d <\/p>\n \n\tWhile some on the right might take umbrage at the omission of any reference to Kirk, one longtime conservative complaint about Hollywood awards<\/a> shows has been celebrities bringing up politics on stage. <\/p>\n