all that glitters

From jock talk to JD Vance shade, here are the absolute gayest moments from the 2024 Emmy Awards

By Cameron Scheetz September 16, 2024 at 7:00am
Photo Credits: Getty Images

The say we’ve reached the era of “peak TV” and Sunday evening’s 76th Annual Emmy Awards proved it with our second Emmys of the calendar year.

Yes, due to 2023’s WGA and SAG strikes, the previous ceremony got delayed until this past January—just a mere eight months ago—but that didn’t stop the stars from donning their finest fashions and trekking back to the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles for TV’s other biggest night in 2024.

Returning to the Emmys stage four years after Schitt’s Creek swept the Comedy categories for its final season, father-son duo Eugene and Dan Levy were the night’s hosts with the most(s), offering up plenty of jabs at one another’s expense and keeping things humming along at a spritely clip.

As many had predicted, some big, worthy winners—Shogūn (Best Drama) and Baby Reindeer (Best Limited Series)—managed to steamroll most of their categories throughout the show, but there were still plenty of surprises along the way, like the fact that the super queer-inclusive Hacks finally claimed its Best Comedy prize! There were a number of other LGBTQ+ winners, too, plus a special honor for one of the most influential gay voices in television, though more on that in a minute…

You can see a full list of the night’s winners on the official Emmys website. But re-live the best—and gayest—moments of the show below:

Carpet Fellows

The entire red carpet was soaking wet after Fellow Travelers hunks Jonathan Bailey & Matt Bomer posed together for a little step-and-repeat photo action, showing off tasteful peeks of the pectorals. Woof. Sadly, neither of them would go on to win in their respective categories, but basically every gay on the internet was ready to throw themselves at the pair as a consolation prize.

Trans sisterhood on the Emmys carpet

We were in tears before the show even started when Baby Reindeer‘s Nava Mau stepped on the red carpet for an interview with E!’s special correspondent for the night, Laverne Cox. Both have made history as trans Emmy nominees, so their emotional embrace was a quiet but hugely powerful moment. “What we’ve been fighting for, as a community, is to be able to tell stories that come from the heart and that are based from a human foundation. Because that’s who we are as trans people—we are humans, first and foremost,” Mau so eloquently shared. “I hope that we get to continue to be all that we are as trans people on screen.”

Dapper Dad & Suave Son, a.k.a. The Levys

Eugene and Dan Levy looked great on stage as they rattled through sharp banter to kick off the night. Dan took a moment to shout out all the queer representation amongst the nominees, from Baby Reindeer‘s Nava Mau, to The Morning Show‘s Holland Taylor, to Fellow Travelers‘ Jonathan Bailey & Matt Bomer, adding, “you can be nominated for playing gay—even if you’re not straight.” Plus, Eugene had a funny bit mistakenly assuming the “+” of AppleTV+ was meant to signify LGBTQ+ inclusion… not quite, daddy!

But where are their wives?

In a tribute to great TV dads, Damon Wayans, George Lopez, and Jesse Tyler Ferguson gathered in a man cave set to announce Best Actor – Comedy. But not before taking a moment to pay tribute to their wives! Ferguson—already looking uncomfortable on that big leather sectional with “no back support”—made sure to chime in that not all of them had female partners, offering up a sweet hello to his Modern Family hubby Eric Stonestreet. (His real husband Justin Mikita was in the audience, too, by the way!)

Jock Talk

Well, the Emmys stage is maybe the last place we’d expect to hear jockstrap talk! And yet here was real-life It’s Always Sunny couple Kaitlin Oslon and Rob McElhenney comparing supporting roles in comedy to junk-supporting undergarments. The highlight moment was definitely Meryl Streep’s look of astonishment in response to the comparison.

Candice Bergen has her claws out for JD Vance

TV Legend Candice Bergen looked like an Emmy herself as she recalled when her titular Murphy Brown character was attacked by then-VP Dan Quayle for deciding to raise a baby as a single mom. “Oh, how far we’ve come,” she deadpans. “Today a Republican candidate for Vice President would never attack a woman for having kids, so my work here is done.” If it wasn’t clear enough she was poking fun of maligned Ohio senator JD Vance, she added in a quick, catty “Meow!” for all the childless cat ladies out there.

The Traitors snatches Drag Race‘s crown

In what might’ve been one of the night’s closest races, The Traitors claimed a win in Outstanding Reality Competition Program over RuPaul’s Drag Race, which had won five out of the last six years prior. Of course, it wasn’t as much of a surprise considering, during last weekend’s Creative Arts Emmys categories, host Alan Cumming ended Mama Ru’s own eight-year win streak. Do we have a new Reality TV titan on our hands? As long as The Traitors keeps getting gayer and gayer… we’re not mad!

Gunning FTW!

Baby Reindeer breakthrough Jessica Gunning—who came out as a “big old gay” earlier this year—took the Best Supporting Actress – Limited or Anthology Series or Movie prize for playing the Netflix hit’s complicated antagonist Martha. Her speech was sweet, genuine, and full of heart—not to mention, when she joked about singing her gratitude to creator Richard Gadd, she launched into a high-pitch laugh that could only be described as Martha-esque. – sent from our iphone

The SNL All-Stars

Naturally, one of the night’s funniest presenter bits belonged to Saturday Night Live‘s nominated cast members past & present: Maya Rudolph, Seth Meyers, Kristen Wiig, and Bowen Yang (in one of our favorites looks of the night, too!). They tried to console their show’s esteemed creator, who’s now lost a whopping 85 Emmys—”Lorne, look at me: You are worthy,” Wiig hilariously reassured him—only to learn SNL has actually won over 200 awards. Also, props to Maya Rudolph for managing to pronounce “robbed” with extra syllables in a way only Maya Rudolph can: rob-eh-duh.

Friends with benefits 😉

If the Emmys producers we’re trying to get gay viewers in a tizzy, they surely achieved their goal by reuniting Y Tu Mamá También babely besties Gael García Bernal & Diego Luna on stage. Hinting they were going to do something radical to help boost ratings, we nearly thought they were going to go in for another kiss! Not quite, though the Spanish-language bit was pretty powerful. And sexy. Is it hot in here, or is it just us?

Richard Gadd is kilting it

Proudly bi—and proudly rocking a kilt—Baby Reindeer creator & star Richard Gadd bested some stiff competition (including fellow queer performers Andrew Scott and Matt Bomer) to win Best Actor – Limited or Anthology Series. But it was earlier speech for his Best Writing win that made a real impact: Gadd pointed to his own unbelievable journey as proof of the power of perseverance, delivering a simple yet profound message to never give up on yourself.

TV trailblazer Greg Berlanti

Presenting this year’s Governors Award to Greg Berlanti, Joshua Jackson praised the TV creator & writer for including American TV’s first gay kiss on the landmark series, Dawson’s Creek, while Matt Bomer cued up a montage that pointed out he also gave us our first on-screen gay marriage and first trans superhero. A humbled Berlanti’s acceptance speech recalled how there was very little LGBTQ+ representation when he was little—joking you could only tell if someone else was gay if they also watched “Dynasty, Dallas, and Golden Girls.” From his memories of his late, supportive mother, to his appreciation for his husband Robbie Rogers, it was a beautiful speech overflowing with emotion.

Jodie Foster is a wife gal

If that rousing standing ovation was any indication, our queen Jodie Foster was probably never going to lose out on Best Actress – Limited or Anthology Series—the people just love her (as they should). She kicked things off with a big congratulatory kiss from her wife, Alex Hedison, and then wrapped it up by calling her the love of her life *swoon* But just as powerful was her acknowledgement of the Indigenous community who helped make True Detective: Night Country happen, spreading a message of deep, deep love.

Baby Reindeer is the little show that could

Baby Reindeer capped off an incredible night with a win for Best Limited or Anthology Series. After premiering on Netflix seemingly out of nowhere this past April, it really was the little-show-that-could. Flanked by his castmates, directors, and co-producers, Gadd underscored the fact that there’s no “formula” to success—his series didn’t need big stars or major brand recognition to become a streaming smash and an Emmys juggernaut. The fact that it did so by centering queer stories and actors makes its win all the more impactful.

Hacks wins—and so do sapphics everywhere!

For the night’s final award, Annie Murphy & Catherine O’Hara joined the Levys on stage for a mini-Schitt’s Creek reunion to present Best Comedy to… surprise! It’s Hacks! Besting presumed frontrunner The Bear, the actually LOL HBO comedy won the top prize for the first time, and it was a true joy watching its massive, majority-queer cast and team of writers take the stage in celebration. But during the speech, Hannah Einbinder and Jean Smart’s wordless embrace and sensual forehead kiss stole the spotlight, giving the sapphics something to tide them over until the show’s fourth season.

Those Red Carpet threads

And, last but certainly not least, the night’s carpet presented a nonstop runway of looks that had us gooped and saving so many photos to our camera roll. And you know our favorite queer stars turned it out, from Emmy winner Alan Cumming (repping his native Scotland and the trans community) to the stunning cast of RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 16, to eternal goddess of the red carpet, Laverne Cox—check out a few favorites below:

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3 Comments*

  • AndyManX85

    I thought it was Will & Grace that had the first gay kiss between Will and Jack?

  • AndyManX85

    And according to Google, “The first same-sex wedding on American television was in the 1991 episode “Can’t Help Loving That Man” on the Fox sitcom Roc.”

  • Chaucer

    I must say that Fellow Travelers was a better and more important story and required better acting than many of the “winners.” But the Emmys often do not recognize the best performances.

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