Black-ish Star Anthony Anderson Sounds Off After Final Season Emmy Snub

The 2022 Emmy Award nominations were revealed on Tuesday, and over a dozen television programs reached double digit nods. HBO’s Succession led the charge with 25 nominations, which included an Emmy record 14 different acting nominations for a drama series. Not far behind is fellow HBO program The White Lotus as well as AppleTV+’s Ted Lasso, which each earned 20 nominations. Streaming giant Netflix shined with Stranger Things and Squid Game, while Hulu’s Dopesick and Amazon Prime Video’s The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel also racked up big nods. While streaming services ate, cable channels had significantly less to show for. ABC comedy Black-ish, which aired its eighth and final season this past April, secured just two craft nominations for this year’s Emmys.

The lack of nods to Black-ish, which collected numerous acting nominations at past Emmy Awards, did not sit well with leading man Anthony Anderson.

“Look, I don’t want to bring the mood down, but I do have a bone to pick with the Academy,” Anderson said while guest-hosting on Jimmy Kimmel Live. “You know who did not get nominated for a Primetime Emmy this morning? America’s sweetheart, me! That’s right, me — Anthony Anderson — and neither did my show, Black-ish, or my co-star, Tracee Ellis Ross.”

Anderson, who plays Andre Johnson on the show, previously had been nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series four times for his role in Black-ish. The series as a whole has been nominated for Emmy Awards 26 times over its 175 episodes.

“Can you believe that s–t, mama?” Anderson said to his mother, who was sitting in the late night show’s crowd. “Look, I’m not saying the voters were stupid for not nominating me or Black-ish or Tracee. I’m saying they’re racist.”

While Black-ish failed to enter the best comedy pool, Anderson noticed a trend in what did make it to that category.

“So Black-ish wasn’t nominated, but we’ve been named the lead suspect in all of those white-people murder shows,” he remarked, as HBO’s Barry, FX’s What We Do in the Shadows and Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building, all of which involve murder, were nominated. 

Regardless, Anderson is viewing the situation optimistically. 

“You know who else never won an Emmy? Nelson Mandela — I think. At least I’ll always have my Oscar for Kangaroo Jack,” Anderson joked. “They can never take that away from me.”

The 2022 Primetime Emmy Awards air on September 12 at 8 p.m. ET.