Fox Censors Sally Field's Anti-War Remarks at Emmys

Posted by Adam Howard at 4:41 AM on September 17, 2007.

Who would have thought that the network infamous for airing Tempation Island would be so easily offended by mild profanity or independent thought!? Last night's Primetime Emmy Awards were unique for the not-so-subtle cutaways Fox would make whenever something deemed inappropriate was being said onstage.

When a shocked Katherine Heigl clearly said "shit" when she won her Best Supporting Actress award for Grey's Anatomy, Fox quickly cut away to the ceiling. The same thing occurred during what appeared to be a harmless Ray Romano routine before he presented an award. But the cut that everyone is likely talking about this morning was during Sally Field's Best Actress in a Drama acceptance speech.

The Los Angeles Times reports (emphasis mine):

"If mothers ruled the world, there wouldn't be any god -" Emmy winner Sally Field said before the Emmycast cut her off her sound and pointed the camera away from the stage so viewers would be distracted. Cut off were the words "god-damned wars in the first place."

"How can this be?" she asked when she won best actress in a drama series for her work as matriarch Nora Walker on "Brothers & Sisters." While the two-time Oscar winner already has two Emmys, this was her first nomination for series work, and she bested a field that included favorite Edie Falco of "The Sopranos."

"This belongs to all the mothers of the world - may they be seen and valued," she said in a heartfelt speech that was only partially heard by Emmywatchers in the US while CTV in Canada did not cut her off.

Finally Field has an acceptance speech that will rival her oft-quoted 1984 Oscars, "You like me, you really like me!" outburst. And once again, Fox loses because the major networks are going to be covering what Field said in its entirety, so even if some Americans missed what she said last night, they will certainly hear it today.

According to Entertainment Weekly, when asked for her reaction to Fox's censorship, Field said "I have no comment other than, 'Oh, well.' I said what I wanted to say."

Tagged as: fox, anti-war, television, field. censorship. emmys

Adam Howard is the editor of PEEK.