Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Sean Spicer Made A Surprise Emmys Appearance (The Surprise Being That We've Normalized Sean Spicer!)
Former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer speaks onstage during the 69th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on September 17, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
()
The 69th Primetime Emmy Awards had a fun, surprise guest: a former White House press secretary who once claimed that President Donald Trump's inauguration "was the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration, period, both in person and around the globe" and later insisted that Hitler never used chemical weapons. (Photographic evidence blatantly showed otherwise; Hitler gassed millions of Jews).
During the end of his opening monologue Sunday night, Emmys host Stephen Colbert joked that there was no way of knowing how big the award show's audience was. "I mean, is there anyone who could say how big the audience is? Sean, do you know?" Colbert asked, before former White House press secretary Sean Spicer walked out on the stage, wheeling a mock White House podium.
The reactions to Sean Spicer were better than Sean Spicer #Emmys pic.twitter.com/KTBZwVwXCM
— Emily Longeretta (@emilylongeretta) September 18, 2017
"This will be the largest audience to witness an Emmys, period. Both in person and around the world," Spicer said, echoing his own statements on the morning of January 22, when he lied to the American people with a straight face about inaugural crowd sizes, setting an ominous tone for facts coming out of the White House press room.
Support for LAist comes from
And then the crowd laughed (a few looked agape), Spicer grinned, and Colbert laid out one last, mild zinger: "Melissa McCarthy, everybody, give it up."
Congratulations, America, we've normalized Sean Spicer.
The reception appeared to be even warmer backstage, where Spicer was "mobbed" in the Emmys lobby, according to Hollywood Reporter reporter Chris Gardner:
What pariah? Sean Spicer getting mobbed in #Emmys lobby. Posing for pics, drinking beer, soaking up all attention after onstage appearance pic.twitter.com/WqJpaRtAvK
— Chris Gardner (@chrissgardner) September 18, 2017
The reception on the internet, however, was not quite as warm. Many called out what they perceived as the normalization of the former White House press secretary:
Ugh NO to Sean Spicer. It's so great that we can embrace someone who used a powerful position to abuse the press and lie to America.
— Mark Harris (@MarkHarrisNYC) September 18, 2017
Do NOT cheer for Sean Spicer. This is how we normalize & excuse unethical, racist, sexist, etc. behavior. #emmys
— Kelly Dittmar (@kdittmar) September 18, 2017
Support for LAist comes from
What fun to watch @seanspicer having a sense of humor about all the times he lied to the American public! GOOD SPORT! #emmys
— Paul F. Tompkins (@PFTompkins) September 18, 2017
everyone who had a hand in bringing spicer on stage should be deeply, profoundly embarrassed
— Ashley Feinberg (@ashleyfeinberg) September 18, 2017
Great work, everybody. This was almost as funny as the travel ban.
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
With less to prove than LA, the city is becoming a center of impressive culinary creativity. -
Nearly 470 sections of guardrailing were stolen in the last fiscal year in L.A. and Ventura counties.
-
Monarch butterflies are on a path to extinction, but there is a way to support them — and maybe see them in your own yard — by planting milkweed.
-
With California voters facing a decision on redistricting this November, Surf City is poised to join the brewing battle over Congressional voting districts.
-
The drug dealer, the last of five defendants to plead guilty to federal charges linked to the 'Friends' actor’s death, will face a maximum sentence of 65 years in prison.
-
The weather’s been a little different lately, with humidity, isolated rain and wind gusts throughout much of Southern California. What’s causing the late-summer bout of gray?
Best of LAist