During the 2021 Emmy Awards on September 19, Cedric The Entertainer served as the 73rd of the show and talked about the pressures of being a show host in the Black community.
According to People, Cedric said, “You know why I wanted to host the Emmys? Because it gives me a chance to thank TV for all that it’s meant to me.”
“We all have our favorite shows from growing up, but my favorite TV memory is sitting with my grandmother watching our programs together. And tonight, it isn’t about just about the very best of this past year. It’s all about the things that we love about television,” he added.
Cedric continued, “Now some of ya’ll thought this celebration would be more subdued, kind of like an Emmys light, but, that’s not the way this host treats his best friend.”
“TV, you got what I need,” he sang his parody of “Just a Friend,” paying tribute to the late Biz Markie, adding “RIP to the one and only Biz Markie.”
Later, during his speech, Cedric touched upon getting vaccinated against COVID-19 to attend the award show.
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“I did not have a reaction like Nicki Minaj’s cousin’s friend, okay,” Cedric joked. “I got Pfizer, you know what I’m saying? Because I’m bougie, alright? Pfizer, that’s the Neiman Marcus of vaccines, you know what I mean? Moderna, that’s Macy’s and then Johnson and Johnson, that’s TJ Maxx of course.”
The comedian then spoke about the pressure he felt hosting the show as a Black entertainer.
“It comes with a lot of pressure being Black hosting a job like this. Because my people they expect that I can just give an award to anybody,” he said. “Black people are like ‘Yo Ced, come on man, you got to give Martin Lawrence an Emmy. And not just Martin, see, you got to give Sheneneh one too.’ I’m like, ‘That’s the same person dog.’ Jimmy Kimmel don’t have that problem.”
Prior to the event, Cedric told the outlet that was a little “nervous” about hosting the show, given that the audience is limited due to COVID-19 rules and regulations.
