Accepting a Family TV Award on behalf of The West Wing, Allison Janney concluded her remarks by expressing her support for striking Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists members. "As an actress, I just have to say, don't take away what's rightfully theirs," Janney said. "They have families to support too."
Janney has been reported as having been surprised and distressed at having to cross SAG/AFTRA picket lines in order to attend the award ceremony.
By most accounts, that is where the whole thing could've ended. While a lot of people express their dislike for the insertion of political opinions into award acceptance speeches, this was a mild one as such things go. Furthermore, the Family Awards (presented by the Family Friendly Programming Forum) is hardly a top-tier, Emmy- or People's Choice-calibre awards ceremony; beyond a mention in Variety or other press particularly concerned with the strike, Janney's comments, no matter how heartfelt, would've sunk without too much of a ripple.
Even if her comments had been edited out of the final program to pander to the event's organizer (the Association of American Advertisers, one of the groups negotiating with the two unions), it's debatable whether Janney or someone who heard her remarks live would've tuned in, would've noticed the omission and would've been upset enough to complain.
Instead, Dick Clark, who was hosting the ceremony, took it upon himself to assure the audience (composed in large part of important people from the advertising industry) that Janney's remarks would be edited out of the final program. Just like that. On the spot. Presumably with Ms. Janney still backstage and, one can only hope, deeply unimpressed at this indignity.
If Clark intended to put out a fire, he grabbed the bucket labelled "gasoline" by mistake. West Wing's Executive Producer John Wells heard about the affront and reportedly asked to have the unedited tape sent to him. By now the story had gotten out elsewhere, and debates began raging in the entertainment community and other interested venues about "editing" versus "censorship", and the fairness/morality/constitutionality of the award show's cutting of Janney's comments.
Wells raised the stakes once again on August 15 by returning the Family Award which Janney had been accepting in the first place, saying the program was "not interested in an award from an
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