As Kate McKinnon was accepting her Emmy for Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series Sunday night, she thanked both current and past cast members of Saturday Night Live, as well as Lorne Michaels. McKinnon’s speech, half-bleeped and appreciative, was fine, but overshadowed ever-so-slightly by Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ reaction to McKinnon’s win.
In short, Dreyfus looked less than impressed by the win. The slight eye-roll coupled with the stiff clap was not what you typically see.
Speculation about Dreyfus’ reaction includes her difficult history with Saturday Night Live, a topic she’s recently discussed during with The New Yorker Radio Hour. It could also simply be that she was disappointed that Veep co-star Anna Chlumsky lost to McKinnon, or was joking. Whatever it was, Leslie Jones was enthused enough for all of us about McKinnon.
Update: In any case, Dreyfus rebounded with a charming and funny acceptance speech of her own: shortly after, she won for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, her fifth consecutive win in that category. In her speech, she acknowledged that her father had just died on Friday.