Sean Spicer speaks at the 69th Emmy Awards. Photo / AP
Sean Spicer speaks at the 69th Emmy Awards. Photo / AP
Emmys host Stephen Colbert pulled no punches during a blistering comic monologue to open the awards' 69th ceremony.
But it was a surprise cameo from former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer that left Hollywood's A-listers reeling.
Host Stephen Colbert speaks at the 69th Primetime Emmy Awards. Photo / Getty
During a frequently politically-charged monologue, Colbert wondered aloud that there was no real way to know exactly how many people were tuning in - when Spicer suddenly appeared on stage, behind his familiar White House lectern.
And just to clarify: No, it wasn't Melissa McCarthy doing her spot-on Spicer impersonation from SNL. She was in the audience, looking just as shocked as anyone else.
Spicer trotted out a couple of now-familiar lines about the Emmys audience being the "biggest ever", channelling his claims about President Trump's inauguration. As the stars reeled at his appearance on stage, Colbert played him off.
"Melissa McCarthy everybody, give it up," he joked.
Elsewhere in his opening monologue, Colbert focused on the President and his longtime obsession with TV ratings - and the fact that he never won an Emmy for his work on The Apprentice, despite frequent nominations.
You guys are neck and neck. And Alec, you're up against a lot of neck," he said.
Colbert pointed out that if Trump had won an Emmy, he probably wouldn't have bothered to run for President - "so in a way, this is all your fault."
Colbert even dug up a forgotten moment from last year's Presidential debates when Trump mentioned he "should've won" an Emmy for The Apprentice.
Host Stephen Colbert (C) performs onstage during the 69th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on September 17, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. Photo / Getty
"But he didn't. Unlike the Presidency, Emmys go to the winner of the popular vote," he quipped.
So pernicious was the President's anti-Emmys grudge, in 2014 he tweeted that then-Emmys host Seth Meyers had "almost no talent" and "marbles in his mouth."
That Seth Meyers is hosting the Emmy Awards is a total joke. He is very awkward with almost no talent. Marbles in his mouth!
After dredging up the old tweet, Colbert cut to Meyers in the audience to give him a right of reply. About to speak, a torrent of marbles fell from Meyers' mouth.
It wasn't all politics - Colbert also took aim at the stars in the room, "people who for the last 48 hours have consumed nothing but distilled water and Crest white strips."
He noted that this year's field of nominees was the most racially diverse ever, and after the applause had died down, mused: "I did not know you could applaud while patting yourself on the back, well done."
13-year-old Stranger Things star Millie Bobby Brown was singled out for "proving once and for all that there are roles in Holywood for women over 12," while HBO was the butt of one close-to-the-bone joke, in the wake of their recent hacking scandal:
"HBO will win a lot of Emmys tonight...which they'll have to melt down for gold to pay for next year's hacker ransom," he said.
Colbert also reminded those winning an award tonight to "Thank everyone who got you up here - namely Game of Thrones for not being nominated this year."
