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Emmys host Nate Bargatze thinks he’s finally figured out a way to keep acceptance speeches short

<i>Amy Sussman/Getty Images via CNN Newsource</i><br/>

By CNN Newsource

Published September 12, 2025 5:00 am

By Elizabeth Wagmeister, CNN

(CNN) — Every comedian brings a different flavor to hosting an award show: Jimmy Kimmel put politics front and center at the Oscars, while Golden Globes host Nikki Glaser wasn’t afraid to get a little raunchy… and both handed out barbs to various famous attendees.

But Nate Bargatze – who will host the Emmys for the first time this Sunday – prefers to keep things clean.

“We will make jokes, so I’m going to fit along with what award shows do and make fun of the situation – but I’ll make fun of myself as well. We can do it in a good, fun way,” Bargatze told CNN in a recent interview. “I want the night to just be fun and silly and keep it moving. Let’s be exciting. And let’s be entertainment for the people at home watching. That’s what we are.”

Bargatze’s nice-guy persona and family-friendly material has catapulted him to become last year’s top-selling standup comedian in America. He said he plans to “try to stick to just what I do” at the Emmys, which means, don’t expect politics or celebrity roasts to take the spotlight.

Bargatze – who met his wife when he was 21 working at an Applebee’s – admits that his family isn’t fully accustomed to the level of fame and success that he’s achieved. But he is always mindful of his roots, which perhaps helps to explain his “clean comedy” brand.

“You have a bunch of different comedians, and you have ones that push the envelopes and ones that don’t. I just ride down the middle,” Bargatze said.

“You try to stay true to yourself. I’m very close to my family. That’s why (with) my standup material, I never wanted to embarrass my parents. I didn’t want them to be like, ‘Oh, I can’t believe he’s saying that,’” he added. “I just was very conscious of that. When I write my material, I’m writing it thinking of my parents in mind. And then you’re not writing it for everybody – you’re writing it for a very specific person.”

All that aside, Bargatze maintained that nothing is off limits on Sunday night, save for overly cruel jokes.

“I would not want to do something that’s just inherently mean, and to really be mean to a person. That would break my heart if I found out anybody was really hurt by anything,” he said.

When asked about one of the elephants in the room – whether he’ll address Stephen Colbert’s late-night cancellation by CBS, which is the same network airing the Emmys telecast – Bargatze said it’s fair game.

“I don’t know if we have jokes on it yet or not,” he said. “I mean, he’s a funny dude, so if we can find a way to do it where I don’t feel like it’s mean… I don’t like to be mean towards him or anyone else in the audience, so if I can do it, yeah… I think we’ll say something. But it will be done in a fun, playful way.”

With his nice-guy persona, however, Bargatze does have one trick up his sleeve for Sunday night. He believes he’s finally figured out a way to keep Hollywood’s acceptance speeches from running over their allotted time.

Bargatze is making a $100,000 donation to the Boys and Girls Club of America, and kids from the organization will be in the room, he shared. But there’s a catch: every Emmy winner gets 45 seconds to make their speech at the podium, but for every single second they run over their time limit, $1000 will be docked from Bargatze’s charitable donation.

“It’s a show, you gotta get moving,” Bargatze said. “It is very serious. The amount of money I give to the Boys and Girls Club is totally up to all of Hollywood.”