Emmy Hecklers Tina Fey and Amy Poehler brought Miley Cyrus' twerking controversy to the Emmy Awards Sunday night as the "Saturday Night Live" alums begged host Neil Patrick Harris to pull off the move during the show's opening.
Eating popcorn and wearing 3D glasses, Fey and Poehler, who hosted this year's Golden Globe Awards to rave reviews, closed out a funny opening number where Harris was "confronted" by past Emmy hosts giving him advice on how to do his job.
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"Take your pants off. Twerk it," shouted Fey. "I come to the award shows for the twerking."
"Work that twerk," added Poehler, per E! News. When Harris said he thought twerking would be degrading, Poehler responded, "It might be degrading, but we would be de-grateful."
The heckling continued when Harris asked why they were wearing the 3D glasses. Fey yelled, "So we can see your business up close." Poehler followed up with, "Yo, NPH, take those pants off. America wants to see what you're working with."
Harris concluded by introducing Fey and Poehler as the show's first presenters for outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series, which went to Merritt Wever for "Nurse Jackie."
Fey told Ryan Seacrest on the red carpet that she and Poehler have been invited back to host next year's Golden Globe Awards and that they were meeting last night to talk about it.
Before Fey and Poehler's heckling, Harris received hosting advice on stage from Jimmy Kimmel, Jane Lynch, Jimmy Fallon, and Conan O'Brien, who proclaimed he hosted the Emmys "when it really mattered."
As the hosts seemed to argue with each other, the camera turned to Kevin Spacey, in character as Francis Underwood from the show "House of Cards," where he introduces Fey and Poehler's bit as the "cherry on the proverbial sundae."
The twerking punch line has reached its high point since Cyrus' performance with Robin Thicke at the MTV Video Music Awards in late August. The performance outraged some parent groups with some commentators calling it raunchy and pornographic.
Cyrus performance, though, has also been widely parodied, the latest by "The Colbert Report" last week when
comedian Stephen Colbert celebrated in his "Obamacare is Dead" skit. The Colbert Report won Emmys for outstanding variety show and outstanding writing for a variety, music or comedy series.
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