9 Emmy Wins & Nominations That Haven’t Aged Well
Warning: The following post contains discussions of sexual misconduct and assault.
Many times now, the golden prestige of the Emmy Awards has been tarnished by the alleged or admitted behavior of the awards show’s winners and nominees.
The #MeToo movement was a day of reckoning for Hollywood, and many Emmy-recognized stars came under fire, but it’s not just sexual misconduct allegations that have caused the once-mighty to fall.
Here are nine Emmy winners and nominees who faced scandal after their Television Academy honors.
If you or someone you know is the victim of sexual assault, contact the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network‘s National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). If you or a loved one are in immediate danger, call 911.
Woody Allen
Despite his big-screen success, Allen’s time in television has only gotten him one Emmy nomination, in recognition of his writing for Sid Caesar’s Chevy Show. Allen’s ex Mia Farrow and adopted daughter Dylan have accused him of sexually assaulting her in 1992, allegations he has denied. Amid the scandal, many Hollywood stars have sworn off working with the director.
Robert Blake
Blake got an Emmy in 1975 for playing the title character in Baretta and ultimately received three more nominations during his career. The late actor was charged with and later acquitted of the 2001 murder of wife Bonny Lee Bakley, but in 2005, a civil jury decided he was behind the killing and ordered him to pay $30 million to Bakley’s children.
Louis C.K.
Louis C.K., a stand-up comedian, has 39 nominations and six Emmy wins, many for Louie, which he created and starred in. His career ground to a halt in 2017, however, after five women accused him of sexual misconduct in a New York Times article and he admitted in a statement that their stories “are true” and that he wielded his power over those women “irresponsibly.”
Bill Cosby
Early in his career, Cosby won three Emmys for I Spy and one for The Bill Cosby Special in four of eight total nominations. Dozens of women have come forward with accusations of sexual assault, sexual battery, and sexual harassment against the comedian, who has not acted on screen since 2004. Cosby was convicted of aggravated sexual assault in 2018, but that conviction was overturned in 2021. In a 2022 civil trial, he was found liable for the 1975 sexual abuse of a 16-year-old.
Jeremy Piven
Piven was nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series in 2005 and won the same category three times in a row between 2006 and 2008, all for his performance in Entourage. Between 2017 and 2018, eight women accused Piven of sexual misconduct or inappropriate behavior to BuzzFeed News. The actor has denied the allegations but has not appeared in a major Hollywood production since.
Bryan Singer
As an executive producer of House, Singer earned four Outstanding Drama Series nominations in a row at the Primetime Emmys. Between 2014 and 2017, three men accused Singer of sexual assault, and in 2019, four men told The Atlantic that the producer and director had sex with them while they were underage. Singer has denied the allegations but has not directed or produced a project since.
Kevin Spacey
Spacey, who has 12 Emmy nominations, including 10 for House of Cards, has been accused of sexual misconduct and assault multiple times. As those allegations picked up in 2017, he was cut from House of Cards and the film All the Money in the World. He was found not liable in a sexual assault lawsuit in New York City in 2022 and not guilty in a sexual assault case in London in 2023.
Jeffrey Tambor
Tambor is a nine-time nominee who has won two Emmys, having claimed the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series prize twice for playing Maura Pfefferman in Transparent. Aside from the backlash around being a cisgender man cast in a trans-woman role, Tambor was accused of sexual harassment by costar Trace Lysette and former assistant Van Barnes and was fired from the show in 2018. He has kept a low profile since.
Harvey Weinstein
For producing Project Greenlight and Project Runway, Weinstein racked up 16 Emmy nominations. In addition to many allegations other of sexual abuse against him, the onetime Hollywood mogul was convicted of rape once in a 2020 trial in New York City and again in a 2022 trial in Los Angeles. The New York conviction was later overturned, and Weinstein will be retried on the rape charges, but that development has not affected his 16-year sentence for the Los Angeles conviction.
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