It's an honor just to be nominated for an Emmy, but it might be an even bigger honor to hear of that nomination directly from Leslie Jones... even if she screws it up a little bit.
Laverne Cox joined Jones, Tatiana Maslany and Josh Gad on a livestream on Tuesday morning to announce the 2020 Emmy nominations, and the show ended with Jones announcing to Cox that she had been nominated for Guest Actress in "a show." Cox clearly didn't understand what she was saying, and appeared confused. Now, Cox confirms to E! News that she was, in fact, confused.
"It was so weird and awkward. I thought like, 'Leslie, what are you doing? I was nominated last year! What are you talking about?'" she told us after the announcement. "It was like, really really weird. It felt like the most awkward moment. I've never been that awkward on live TV, I don't think, in my life."
Cox was actually nominated for her role in the final season of Orange Is the New Black, and since she only appeared in one scene, she was most certainly not expecting a nomination.
"Like, why? I'm in one scene!" she said. "It still feels like somebody made a mistake!"
That said, Cox is also "really grateful" for the recognition.
"I know that other actors vote for this, and for my colleagues to value the work is just incredible," she said. "It's amazing. I love actors so much and I love what I do, so I'm honored, but it's just shocking."
Both Cox and Jones clearly reacted with joy when Zendaya's name appeared in the nominees for Lead Actress in a Drama, and Cox has nothing but praise for the Euphoria star.
"I love her work, and I think that that show is so groundbreaking and so raw and so many ways, and where she goes in that performance is just exquisite, and congratulations Zendaya. She so deserves it."
Cox also gave a shout out to Jeremy Pope, who was nominated for his role in Hollywood. She said she tried to keep a straight face while reading the nominations, but it's hard when you know how exciting this moment is, especially for first-time nominees.
"I love television, and I love actors, and I am just so grateful that I get to do this," she said. "I don't take moments like this for granted. When they asked me to do this, I was like, 'yes!' It was a dream of mine to be nominated for an Emmy, to win an Emmy. It's a dream that I've had for a very long time, and I just think about the little kid growing up in Alabama that I was, dreaming of moments like this, and so in honor of that little kid who still lives inside of me, I'm just humbled and insanely excited that I even get to present and that I get to be a nominee again. The little kid is very, very, very happy."
Like the rest of us, Cox doesn't know what the future holds for the Emmys in terms of how it will be able to air, but she knows she'll miss all the usual things that go along with an award show.
"That's part of the whole thing, is giving and serving up looks. I haven't done a red carpet in so long. I miss red carpets. It's so much work and they're stressful, but it's fun," she said. "I've been a fan of award shows for a very long time, and the red carpet stuff is the best part sometimes. It's like watching E! Live From the Red Carpet, it's part of the whole process. Somebody's gotta figure something out. We need glamour!"
That said, don't you dare think Cox won't be able to serve us a look even if the whole ceremony takes place on Zoom. Just take a look at what she's wearing in the video above!