Between the hazmat statue presenters and Jimmy Kimmel’s empty stadium appearance, the 2020 Emmys feel grim. Yet, two women were powerful enough to brighten up the gloom with a single shot of their backyard party: Little Fires Everywhere stars Kerry Washington and Reese Witherspoon. Then host Kimmel had to go and ruin everything.
In a mid-show bit, Kimmel tossed to Washington and Witherspoon — who also produced Hulu’s Fires and are therefore Outstanding Limited Series nominees — for a virtual peek at their very posh celebration. The pair explain that their Emmys viewing soiree is also serving as a “New Year’s Eve party” because, as Witherspoon quips, they’re “ready for this year to be over.” It’s a perfect made-to-be-memed awards show moment like the Ellen Degeneres 2014 Oscars selfie.
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“I wish I could kiss you,” Washington and Witherspoon say to each other after a proper New Year’s Eve countdown, sharing a sweet moment of platonic friendship. Kimmel then sours the scene, adding, “I wish I could kiss you guys too.”
Washington’s face noticeably falls onscreen as she shoots back, “No. We don’t want that! Thank you.”
All of a sudden, an even better, more organic response to 2020 is born.
“This is every queer woman's experience in a bar,” wrote one Twitter user in response to the transcript of Washington and Kimmel’s conversation. “Reese and Kerry rejecting Jimmy Kimmel funnier than anything in the script,” tweeted another viewer. And, one person just found the perfect gif.
*Reese Witherspoon & Kerry Washington do a countdown to 2021*
— Amanda Holland (@AwkwardHolland) September 21, 2020
REESE (to Kerry): I wish I could kiss you.
KERRY: I wish I could kiss you too.
JIMMY KIMMEL: I wish I could kiss you too.
KERRY: No we don't want that, thank you.
This is every queer woman's experience in a bar
The way Kerry Washington just curved Jimmy Kimmel💀💀💀#Emmy pic.twitter.com/XYxqm5jAlt
— michelle greenidge (@Mimi_Greenidge) September 21, 2020
reese and kerry rejecting jimmy kimmel funnier than anything in the script
— phoebe bridgers’ vegetable (@haenelswift) September 21, 2020
jimmy kimmel: i wish I could kiss you
— grace dante (@misslefroy) September 21, 2020
kerry washington: we don’t want that, thank you pic.twitter.com/dWE3jnUQJL
Reese Witherspoon to Kerry Washington: I wish I could kiss you right now
— Spencer Althouse (@SpencerAlthouse) September 21, 2020
Jimmy Kimmel chiming in: I wish I could kiss you too
Kerry Washington: No, we don't want that. Thank you pic.twitter.com/vYNM1wBUoW
Washington’s quick rebuffing of Kimmel is particularly notable considering the Emmys’ uncomfortably long history of misogyny during the broadcast. The most famous instance of such bad behavior came in 2014, when the telecast literally put Modern Family actress Sofia Vergara on a pedestal, showing off her body in 360-degree detail with the aid of a spinning platform. Vergara had to respond to the moment — which she insisted was “funny” — after she stepped off the Emmys stage.
Six years later, Kerry Washington does not have the time to wait.
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