The creator of Succession might take the crown for most awkward joke at the Emmy Awards.
Succession's Jesse Armstrong made a jab at King Charles III while on stage to accept the prize for Outstanding Drama Series at the 2022 Emmys on Sept. 12. Also nominated in the category this year were Better Call Saul, Euphoria, Ozark, Severance, Squid Game, Stranger Things and Yellowjackets. (See all the 2022 Emmys winners here.)
At the ceremony, which was held four days after the death of Queen Elizabeth II, Armstrong made a joke about about the royal succession and Charles' ascension to the throne.
Suggesting it's been "big for successions in the U.K.," Armstrong said, "Evidently, a bit more voting involved in our winning than Prince Charles'. I'm not saying we're more legitimate than that position—we'll leave that to other people. We are incredibly grateful to have this wonderful honor."
Star Brian Cox appeared to try to put a stop to it, saying, "Keep it royalist, keep it royalist."
Armstrong continued by shouting out his "extraordinary" cast and crew, which includes Jeremy Strong, Kieran Culkin, Sarah Snook, Nicholas Braun and Matthew Macfadyen.
"It's a team effort, starting with the writers room, the producers who support us, the directors, my god, the extraordinary cast we are surrounded by, my goodness, our amazing crew," Armstrong said. "And HBO who protects and supports us, so many thanks."
However, the Emmys audience was not pleased by his apparent joke about the royal family.
An eyewitness tells E! News there were a lot of audible "wtfs" and no laughter in the crowd. "It seemed most people felt it was in poor taste," the witness said. Another eyewitness tells E! News, "It was just very awkward."
Armstrong's other writing credits include the series The Queen's Nose, Fresh Meat, Babylon, Peep Show, The Old Guys and The Thick of It.
Succession follows the elite Roy family, who run the media empire Waystar Royco, and four siblings' battle to succeed their father Logan Roy (Cox) as head of the company.
See the cast of Succession at the 2022 Emmys below.
(E! and NBC are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)