Nate Bargatze—seen here in a 2022 photo—will host the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards on September 14, 2025, at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. He responded to criticism over his new donor matching program during the ceremony. The comedian with the habit of crashing acceptance speeches sought to liven things up with a surprise donation plan to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. His plan didn’t turn out quite as he’d wanted.
Bargatze kicked off the night with his own base donation of $100,000 directly to the Boys & Girls Clubs. He introduced an amendment to penalize every second an acceptance speech did not meet the new 45-second threshold by adding $1,000 against the offending candidate. He was going to deduct $1,000 for each second you went over that cut off time. The giving total was up and down all night—and often went under zero.
I was only going to award that money at the end. As if I didn’t already assume I would have to, Bargatze reflected. But just the manner in which it happened, I was like, ‘Well I can’t–I’m not going to not.
Over the course of the show, Bargatze paid attention to audience and performer alike. He increased his matching donation from $100,000 to $250,000 after hearing their feedback. CBS helped push the total over the top with a $100,000 gift of their own.
The premise, despite his best efforts, earned Bargatze backlash for this controversial part of the production. He further elaborated on why he thought the stars and audience would view it as a great, fun, humorous, light-hearted gesture. In my head, I wasn’t trying to put anyone on the spot. I really didn’t mean to pressure anyone into donating cash. As he told the audience, “In my mind, I decided to make this enjoyable.” He cited John Oliver’s hilariously rushed acceptance speech as an ideal illustration of his concept.
Bargatze conceded that reviews complaining became his biggest focus on the plan. “A lot of the reviews did not like the Boys & Girls Clubs thing,” he admitted. But still he wasn’t very worried about its reception, telling Pitchfork, “Everybody back home thought it was great. Everybody at home liked it. It was fun. It was entertaining seeing money go down.
The Boys & Girls Clubs of America publicly expressed gratitude towards Bargatze’s efforts on Instagram, stating, “Saying thank you in 45 seconds or less just won’t do. From the bottom of our hearts, THANK YOU, @natebargatze & @cbstv, for including our Club Kids in such an unforgettable night.”
