Officials from the International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences announced on Friday that New York Governor Andrew Cuomo will be awarded an International Emmy for his coronavirus briefings.
The Governor received praise for his daily televised briefings, which drew in tens of millions of viewers worldwide.
Is Andrew Cuomo getting an Emmy?
Cuomo will receive an Emmy for the “leadership” he displayed during more than a hundred daily coronavirus briefings, which the Academy praised as “masterful television.”
On March 2, the New York governor began conducting a series of televised press briefings from Albany to keep New Yorkers and the public updated about cases and how the state would navigate the pandemic.
He conducted 111 briefings, which concluded on June 19.
His daily televised briefings reached around 59million people according to WABC.
Cuomo recently threatened to sue President Donald Trump over coronavirus vaccine distribution to ensure it goes to “black and brown communities.”
The governor made the comments after Trump threatened to withhold the vaccine from the state of New York.
When will he receive the award?
Cuomo will be presented the 2020 International Emmy Founders Award on November 23 during a live-streamed show.
The Founder’s Award is presented to an individual or organization that “crosses cultural boundaries to touch our common humanity.”
What did the academy say about Cuomo’s award?
The academy praised Cuomo’s “masterful use of television to inform and calm people around the world” from Albany.
International Academy President and CEO Bruce Paisner said the governor’s decisive action made his state “a symbol of the determination to fight back.”
“The governor’s 111 daily briefings worked so well because he effectively created television shows, with characters, plot lines, and stories of success and failure,” he said.
“People around the world tuned in to find out what was going on, and New York tough became a symbol of the determination to fight back.”
How did people react to the news of his award?
News of Cuomo’s award has been met with overwhelmingly negative reactions on social media.
“Giving Andrew Cuomo an Emmy is the equivalent of giving Hannibal Lecter the Nobel Peace Prize,” one user wrote.
“Andrew Cuomo is getting an Emmy for delivering the second highest covid death rate in America. We live in a clown world,” another agreed.
“The worst and deadliest governor in America got a book deal and now an Emmy,” one penned.
The Twitter user is referencing Cuomo’s new book, American Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic, which hit stores last month.
In the book, Cuomo discusses the state’s nursing home scandal which he has received severe backlash for.
Cuomo writes in the book that said that Republicans “decided to attack Democratic governors and blame them for nursing homes” before slating that the party “needed to add a conspiracy.”
Cuomo confirmed: “It was a lie. New York State never demanded or directed that any nursing home accept a COVID-positive patient.”
Some of Cuomo’s supporters defended the governor’s handling of the pandemic on social media.
“I mean, I don’t know if an Emmy award is necessary, but Cuomo was a godsend in the early days of the pandemic. He 1000% kept people calm,” one user said.
“I love that Andrew Cuomo is getting an Emmy for keeping folks calm and informed during the pandemic while trump was busy telling folks to inject bleach,” another wrote in reference to the President’s early advice.
