Nate Bargatze reacts to criticism over Emmys charity gimmick: 'I wasn't trying to overshadow any ...

But the firsttime host admits that his execution wasn't perfect: &34;I could've explained it more.&34; Nate Bargatze reacts to criticism over Emmys charity gimm

But the first-time host admits that his execution wasn't perfect: "I could've explained it more."

Nate Bargatze reacts to criticism over Emmys charity gimmick: 'I wasn't trying to overshadow any of their speeches'

But the first-time host admits that his execution wasn't perfect: "I could've explained it more."

By Jessica Wang

Jessica Wang

Jessica Wang is a staff writer at **. Her work has appeared in Bustle, Nylon, Cosmopolitan, and more.

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September 25, 2025 2:38 p.m. ET

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Nate Bargatze hosts the 2025 Emmy Awards. Credit:

Christopher Polk/Variety via Getty

Nate Bargatze knows that his ambitious charity stunt at the 2025 Emmys with the Boys & Girls Club of America fell a bit flat.

In an attempt to streamline acceptance speeches to the allotted 45 seconds, the host declared at the top of this year's Sept. 14 ceremony that he'd given a donation of $100,000 to the organization — but he warned that for every speech that went over the time limit, he would dock $1,000 from that amount.

Critics largely panned the gimmick, but Bargatze insists that he had good intentions.

"A lot of reviews did not like that, but it came from a real place of heart," Bargatze said on Wednesday's episode of the *Nateland* podcast. "Everybody at home loved it. It was fun and entertaining to see money go down and all that."

"I wasn't trying to put anyone on the spot or make someone donate money," he continued. "In my head I thought, 'Make it fun. We're not using the charity as a tool.'"**

He added that he wasn't attempting to spoil winners' victories, either. "I wasn't trying to overshadow any of their speeches," he said. "I thought it was going to be, like, Netflix donating, or Apple — the shows that won. It's not like I expected [15-year-old *Adolescence* winner Owen Cooper] to give money."

The comedian said he had hoped for a win-win situation, in which the night also became "about love and giving to these kids that are there and all this kind of stuff."**

Nate Bargatze's acceptance speech gimmick ends with high sum at the Emmys

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Still, he acknowledges that the gimmick could have been executed better. "I don't know if I just didn't explain it enough in the room," Bargatze said. "I had it in my head one way, it came out another way. There was no ill will. I was trying to have a very giving night. So if someone was giving these long speeches, I thought they could be like, 'Netflix will cover my overage.' I could've explained it more."**

Nate Bargatze and J.B. Smoove with kids from the Boys & Girls Club at the 2025 Emmys.

Kevin Winter/Getty

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The amount of money raised fluctuated throughout the show, and by the end sat at $26,000 in the hole. But the gimmick ended on a happy note for the Boys & Girls Club after CBS and Bargatze added to the tally and got it up to a grand total of $350,000 — much to the delight of the audience.

Netflix's miniseries *Adolescence*, Apple TV+'s Hollywood comedy *The Studio*, and HBO Max's medical drama *The Pitt *were among the major winners on TV's biggest night.**

Original Article on Source

Source: "AOL Emmys"

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