12 Moments From the Emmys That Gave Us All Serious Secondhand Embarrassment

The 68th annual Emmy Awards was one of the most entertaining award shows in recent memory, in part because of its high volume of truly cringeworthy moments. There were tone-deaf jokes that would make even Michael Scott blush, purse snatchers, and a particularly awkward situation involving Jerry Seinfeld, all of which had us struggling not to turn off our TVs. Let's just say we won't be forgetting this year's Emmys anytime soon.

01

Tina Fey's (and Everyone Else's) Reaction to That Bill Cosby Joke

Of all the awkward moments at this year's Emmys, this was one of the worst. After a commercial break, a voice welcomed accused rapist Bill Cosby to the stage, which proved to be an instant mood killer. Ellie Kemper's smile immediately slid off her face, and Tina Fey looked downright shocked before turning to Amy Poehler and saying, "This has to be a joke." Luckily for everyone in the Microsoft Theater, it was. A bad one. "Don't worry, he's not really here," host Jimmy Kimmel quipped. "I just wanted to see what you guys would do."

02
Jeffrey Tambor's Red Carpet Interview
ABC

Jeffrey Tambor's Red Carpet Interview

During Jeffrey Tambor's red carpet interview with Rachel Smith before the show, the Transparent actor and Emmy winner stopped midsentence to ask what a crew member behind the scenes was doing. He started mimicking the motions (which seemed to imply Rachel had to hurry the interview along), effectively derailing the entire conversation.

03
Amy Schumer's Strange Interaction With John Travolta and Kelly Preston
ABC

Amy Schumer's Strange Interaction With John Travolta and Kelly Preston

Amy Schumer, John Travolta, and Kelly Preston all stopped to chat with Lara Spencer and Chris Harrison on the red carpet, where things got a little uncomfortable. John and Kelly seemed totally unsure of how to act while Amy joked about her lower back tattoo, her new book, and getting food poisoning.

04

Jimmy Kimmel's Joke About Marcia Clark

Jimmy took some time to poke fun at Marcia Clark, the head prosecutor in the O. J. Simpson murder case on whom Sarah Paulson's award-winning role in American Crime Story was based. He pointed her out in the crowd and said, "Because everyone in LA knows, if you want to win, sit next to Marcia Clark." It will always be too soon, Jimmy.

05
Aziz Ansari Getting Played Off the Stage
ABC

Aziz Ansari Getting Played Off the Stage

Alan Yang and Aziz Ansari took home an outstanding writing for a comedy series win for their "Parents" episode in Master of None, which is all about their parents' struggle as immigrants in America. Although Alan gave an impassioned speech about Asian-American actors, Aziz wasn't able to get a word in since they were confusingly played off. He went back and forth to the microphone before just deciding to leap off the stage and run back to his seat.

06

Chris Harrison's Preshow Interview With Constance Zimmer

Things got pretty tense on the red carpet when Chris Harrison, host of The Bachelor, interviewed Constance Zimmer, actress on Unreal (a harsh satire of The Bachelor). Chris has spoken at length about his distaste for the show in the past and made his feelings clear during their prickly discussion. "One thing does make me angry about the show," he started. "The host of your show, the fake show, is the kind of doofus that the executive producer, which you play, hates. They hate him. That is so spot-on, it makes me angry." Thankfully, fellow host Lara Spencer soon swooped in to diffuse the tension.

07

A Twitter Mix-Up Involving Cuba Gooding Jr. and Terrence Howard

Do Cuba Gooding Jr. and Terrence Howard even look that much alike? Clearly whoever is running the Television Academy's Twitter account thought so and mistakenly confused Terrence for Cuba in a tweet that stayed up for over two minutes. It ended up getting deleted, but screenshots are forever.

08
Jimmy Kimmel's Joke About Transparent
ABC

Jimmy Kimmel's Joke About Transparent

Transparent was a big winner on Sunday night, scooping up awards for creator Jill Soloway (best directing for a comedy) and actor Jeffrey Tambor (outstanding lead actor in a comedy series), who both made impassioned speeches about the trans community (the show follows a family in LA who must come to terms with the fact that the person they've always known as their father, Mort, is transgender). In a low moment, Jimmy made an ill-advised joke about the show's premise and its subject matter after Jill's win, saying, "Transparent was born a drama, but it identifies as a comedy." Not cool.

09
Jerry Seinfeld's Interview With Giuliana Rancic
E!

Jerry Seinfeld's Interview With Giuliana Rancic

Jerry Seinfeld made his first Emmys appearance since 1998 one to remember. While walking down the red carpet, he stopped to talk to E!'s Giuliana Rancic and didn't seem too thrilled about it. She asked him why he's skipped the Emmys for the last 18 years, and he responded with a flustered, "I don't know! I don't know why I'm here." Then, she asked if he ever watches Seinfeld reruns, to which he looked confused and vigorously shook his head "no."

10

Matt LeBlanc's Creepy Joke About Emilia Clarke

Matt LeBlanc and Emilia Clarke might have had a supercute interaction on the Graham Norton show in June, but after the Emmys, we have a feeling their relationship will be a little weirder. E! News’ Jason Kennedy interviewed the 49-year-old Friends star on the red carpet, asking him if he's a fan of Game of Thrones. "I fell out of touch with it, and I guess that's when she started getting naked," he said about Emilia, who was listening in. "So I need to catch up." Ew.

11

Twitter Users Mistaking Richard Dreyfuss For Julia Louis-Dreyfus's Late Father

When Julia Louis-Dreyfus took home her fifth consecutive Emmy for best lead actress in a comedy for her work in Veep, she gave a tearful acceptance speech that she dedicated to her father, who passed away on Friday. Her father, billionaire Gérard Louis-Dreyfus, is not Jaws actor Richard Dreyfuss, although Twitter seemed to think so. The response was so overwhelming that Richard was forced to acknowledge the gaffe on social media and then launched into a series of tweets about how he'd never won an Emmy himself.

12
A Sherlock Cast Member's Purse Got Stolen During Her Acceptance Speech
Getty | Alberto E. Rodriguez

A Sherlock Cast Member's Purse Got Stolen During Her Acceptance Speech

Sherlock's win for outstanding television movie should have been a happy affair, but while producers Sue Vertue and Steven Moffat and actress Amanda Abbington were up onstage accepting the award, Amanda's purse was stolen from her seat. She documented the entire unfortunate incident on Twitter. "Thanks for the lovely tweets re; the Emmy's. So pleased we won! Cool, right?" she tweeted. "However, we went up to collect the Emmy, did some press, came back to my seat and some bastard had nicked my purse from under my seat. Nice. Had my phone and driver's licence in it. So whoever took my purse, I hope some terrible Karmic sh*t happens to you. How crappy is that."