Seth Rogen Thinks He Was 'Blacklisted' From The Emmys After Telling This Joke

Seth Rogen may have been one of the biggest winners at this year's Emmy Awards, but even with an armful of trophies for his Apple TV+ satire "The Studio," he does not think he will be invited to present anytime soon. During a recent appearance on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" to promote his new film "Good Fortune," written and directed by Aziz Ansari, Rogen said he has "a theory" that he has been "blacklisted" by Emmy Awards producers. "I presented there, I think it was, four years ago at this point, and I have not been invited back," says Rogen.

The situation stems from Rogen's appearance at the 2021 Emmy Awards, which he recalled took place "in the thick of COVID" when indoor gatherings were still widely discouraged. Rogen said producers assured attendees the ceremony would be safe, and he initially planned to follow the scripted remarks, but changed course after realizing the event was being held inside a tent. That realization led Rogen to veer off script from the remarks prepared on the teleprompter: "Let me start by saying there is way too many of us in this little room. What are we doing? They said this was outdoors! It's not. They lied to us. We're in a hermetically sealed tent right now! I would not have come to this. Why is there a roof? It's more important that we have three chandeliers than that we make sure we don't kill Eugene Levy tonight. That is what has been decided. This is insane. I went from wiping my groceries to having Paul Bettany sneeze in my face."

Luckily, Eugene Levy did survive the ceremony, but Rogen's standing with the Emmy producers did not.

Rogen said that when he stepped off the stage, the show's producers were outwardly upset with him. Kimmel, a three-time Emmy Award host, joked that Rogen is "indeed banned from presenting," though Rogen said he has no regrets about his off-the-cuff ribbing. "I went off book and made them look bad, I get that," he joked.

At the time, Emmy producer Ian Stewart didn't hold back on expressing his displeasure at Rogen's ribbing. In an interview with Variety shortly after the telecast, Steward made it clear that they had "worked for months and months to make that a safe space," working with LA County to have the tables distanced, ensure everyone was vaccinated and had them produce a negative test result before coming inside. Stewart also points out that Rogen had been a part of the rehearsals earlier that day for the show. "So he knew exactly what it was. So, I just felt it was an unfortunate misdirect from him. Because it wasn't just our decision. This is the health authorities' decision as well, to say that it's a completely safe environment if you do all those things."

Following Rogen's recent comments, TVLine contacted the Television Academy, which offered a more diplomatic response: "The Television Academy congratulates Mr. Rogen on his multiple Emmy wins this past September, and we look forward to seeing him in the audience at many ceremonies to come." While far more cordial than Stewart's 2021 remarks, it doesn't take a linguist to notice that the statement suggests that Rogen's next trip to the Emmy stage will likely come only if he is accepting an award.