Celebrity shout outs make DC Public Schools a surprise Emmy hit
dpa
WASHINGTON (dpa) - Predicting who will take home gold at an awards show is always a bit of a fool's errand, but there was one winner at the Emmys no one saw coming: Washington DC's public school system.
Comedian Dave Chappelle, who graduated from DC Public Schools in 1991, gave a surprise shout out to the much-maligned institution as he presented the award for best director of a comedy series.
"I should also tell you that I skipped rehearsal," Chappelle told the audience at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles alongside co-presenter Melissa McCarthy.
"All right, now I'm going to read this teleprompter. Shout out to DC Public Schools, here we go," he said.
Chappelle's quip threw a spotlight on the school district that got a boost later in the show by British comedian John Oliver when he won an Emmy for his late-night HBO show "Last Week Tonight."
"Like Dave Chappelle, I would like to unexpectedly thank DC Public Schools, because I think it would be great if it started trending on Twitter for no reason tonight whatsoever, so if you're tweeting at home about the Emmys, please use the hashtag #DCPublicSchools," he said
Viewers obliged and made the hashtag one of the most popular on Twitter in the United States, prompting DC Public Schools to join in on the conversation.
"Us right now," it wrote above a picture of of a young child with a dumbfounded look on her face.
DC Public Schools has long been seen as emblematic of the nation's struggle to improve underfunded and underperforming urban schools, whose students are often afflicted by poverty and exposed to health and safety risks.
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Chappelle's quip threw a spotlight on the school district that got a boost later in the show by British comedian John Oliver when he won an Emmy for his late-night HBO show "Last Week Tonight."
"Like Dave Chappelle, I would like to unexpectedly thank DC Public Schools, because I think it would be great if it started trending on Twitter for no reason tonight whatsoever, so if you're tweeting at home about the Emmys, please use the hashtag #DCPublicSchools," he said
Viewers obliged and made the hashtag one of the most popular on Twitter in the United States, prompting DC Public Schools to join in on the conversation.
"Us right now," it wrote above a picture of of a young child with a dumbfounded look on her face.
DC Public Schools has long been seen as emblematic of the nation's struggle to improve underfunded and underperforming urban schools, whose students are often afflicted by poverty and exposed to health and safety risks.
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