Politics took centre stage at the Emmy Awards with Donald Trump being skewered from all angles.
During a series of political barbs, the US president was accused of making black people the most oppressed in America and called a “lying, hypocritical bigot”.
The Los Angeles ceremony on Sunday night saw victories for political satire Veep – created by Briton Armando Iannucci – and Saturday Night Live (SNL) which has enjoyed a resurgence with its attacks on Mr Trump.
Perhaps the hardest-hitting shot came in a speech by Emmy presenters Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda who took the stage alongside Dolly Parton, their co-star in Nine To Five.
Fonda described the conditions their characters faced in the 1980 film.
Without naming him, Tomlin added: “And in 2017 we still refuse to be controlled by a sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot.”
Parton raised her eyebrows at the critique and remained silent.
Alec Baldwin won outstanding supporting actor in a comedy series for his regular portrayals of Mr Trump on SNL.
“At long last Mr President here is your Emmy,” he said of the Celebrity Apprentice-host-cum-president.
Congrats @AlecBaldwin on your Primetime #Emmy Award for #Saturdaynightlive pic.twitter.com/VurSzGMjA5
— The Emmys® (NATAS) (@TheEmmys) September 18, 2017
Collecting the lead actor in a comedy series award, Atlanta star Donald Glover said: “I want to thank Trump for making black people number one on the most oppressed list – he’s the reason I’m probably up here.”
Lead actress in a comedy series winner Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who won for Veep which also scored best comedy series, said a story-line about a fictional president’s dismissal had to be scrubbed from the up-coming final season.
“We did have a story-line about an impeachment, but we abandoned that because we were worried that someone else might get to it first,” she said.
. Bring it on @StephenAtHome #Emmys pic.twitter.com/EEYf1oiGB3
— The Emmys® (NATAS) (@TheEmmys) September 18, 2017
Host Stephen Colbert was swift in tackling the president, who he called the “biggest TV star of the last year” for influencing shows’ plot-lines.
Mr Trump’s fired press secretary Sean Spicer came on stage to joke “this will be the largest audience to witness an Emmys – period”, in a reference to the debacle over numbers attending the president’s inauguration speech.