Baldwin wins Emmy for Trump takeoff

Satirical sketch show Saturday Night Live took the Emmys by storm on Sunday, winning three early awards in a ceremony marked by multiple jabs at US President Donald Trump.

Alec Baldwin accepts the award for his comedic portrayal of Donald Trump in Saturday Night Live....
Alec Baldwin accepts the award for his comedic portrayal of Donald Trump in Saturday Night Live. Photo: Reuters

After the show's most-watched season in 23 years, Alec Baldwin won the comedy supporting actor Emmy for his withering impersonations of Trump, while Kate McKinnon was a winner for her spoofs of his presidential election rival Hillary Clinton and White House aide Kellyanne Conway.

Saturday Night Live, which airs on Comcast Corp's NBC, also won the Emmy for best variety sketch series, while Melissa McCarthy's turn as former White House press secretary Sean Spicer won her an Emmy last week.

Spicer, who resigned in July, was a surprise guest at Sunday's Emmys, appearing with his podium to declare that the Emmys telecast would attract the largest audience ever. Period.

Trump loomed over the ceremony.

"The biggest TV star of the past year is Donald Trump - and Alec Baldwin, obviously," said Colbert, who has relentlessly attacked Trump on his The Late Show.

Colbert joked about Trump's multiple Emmy nominations but zero wins for his reality shows The Apprentice and The Celebrity Apprentice, before he decided to run for the White House.

"If he had won an Emmy, I bet he wouldn't have run for president," Colbert told the A-list audience.

"It's your fault! He never forgave you and he never will. But unlike the presidency, the Emmys go to the winners of the popular vote," Colbert quipped, referring to the 2016 election result.

Accepting his statuette, Baldwin quipped, "I suppose I should say, 'at long last Mr. President, here is your Emmy'."

Backstage Baldwin said he would be reprising his Trump role in the upcoming new series of Saturday Night Live, describing his impersonation as an outlet for Americans who cannot come to terms with Trump's election.

"I find myself a conduit for them. They are very frustrated, they are suffering a great deal," he said.

Oprah Winfrey embraces Elizabeth Moss as she presents The Handmaid's Tale with the award for...
Oprah Winfrey embraces Elizabeth Moss as she presents The Handmaid's Tale with the award for Outstanding Drama Series. Photo: Reuters

Handmaid's Tale, Veep top winners

The Handmaid's Tale and political comedy Veep won the top prizes at the Emmy awards on Sunday.

In the first major awards wins for streaming service Hulu, Handmaid's Tale star Elisabeth Moss was also named best drama actress for playing a woman forced into sexual servitude.

The show also won awards for writing, directing and for supporting actress Ann Dowd.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus won her sixth consecutive Emmy for playing an egotistical presidential candidate on HBO's Veep, one of the few repeat winners this year.

Sterling K. Brown won best dramatic actor for his role as an African-American who is adopted into a white family in heart-tugging NBC family drama This Is Us.

Donald Glover won best comedy actor for his hip-hop themed show Atlanta.

Julia Louis Dreyfus with her sixth consecutive Emmy for Veep. Photo: Reuters
Julia Louis Dreyfus with her sixth consecutive Emmy for Veep. Photo: Reuters

In a crowded limited series category, HBO's female-driven murder mystery Big Little Lies came out on top, winning for best series, for actors Nicole Kidman, Laura Dern and Alexander Skarsgard, as well as for writing and directing.

Britain's Riz Ahmed won his first Emmy for his role as a man who falls foul of the US judicial system in HBO's crime limited series The Night Of.

Trump loomed over the ceremony as the target of multiple jokes.

"The biggest TV star of the past year is Donald Trump - and Alec Baldwin, obviously," said Emmy host Stephen Colbert, who has relentlessly attacked Trump on his The Late Show.

Baldwin won the comedy supporting actor Emmy for his withering impersonations of Trump on Comcast Corp's NBC's satirical series Saturday Night Live.

Saturday Night Live was named best variety sketch series, and also brought wins for Kate McKinnon and Melissa McCarthy's turn as former White House press secretary Sean Spicer.

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