The Boys & Girls Club of America CEO was touched by comedian Nate Bargatze’s “incredible” donation after the 2025 Emmy Awards.
“Our heartfelt thanks to Nate Bargatze, CBS, and the Emmy Awards team for supporting Boys & Girls Clubs in such a big way,” the organization’s President and CEO, Jim Clark, shared in a statement with E! News on Monday, September 15. “It was a true honor for our Club Kids to share the stage with the night’s winners, especially knowing some of our alumni have gone on to become Emmy winners themselves.”
The statement continued, “We are also deeply grateful to all who kept their speeches short in the spirit of this fun challenge and to maximize the impact for our young people. The generous $350,000 donation from CBS and Nate is a powerful investment in the dreams and great futures of millions of young people nationwide.”
Bargatze, 46, hosted the Emmys on Sunday, September 14, and had an ongoing bit throughout the duration of the show regarding a massive donation to the Boys & Girls Club.
“What I came up with is I’m going to donate $100,000 to the Boys & Girls Club. That’s what the show’s starting out with,” the comedian said at the top of the show. “I know how hard you guys have all worked to get here. I’m not trying to take anything away. Forty-five seconds, that’s what you got. If you want to do more than that, do it on social media later, more people are going to see it there anyway.”
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For every speech that went over the allotted 45 seconds, money was deducted from the total donation.
“That’s tough. It’s brutal. What are you gonna do, though?” Bargatze continued. “You know, I can’t change it. This is a game I made up, and these are the rules.”
By the end of the show, the total reached the negatives. Seth Rogen even commented on it when he accepted the Outstanding Comedy Series award for The Studio.
“If anyone else wants to say something, we’re already in debt,” he joked. “We f***ed over the boys and girls, so.”
However, CBS still donated $100,000 to the organization, while Bargatze chipped in with $250,000 of his own money.
While some audience members laughed at the ongoing bit — which was referenced several times throughout the evening — others weren’t too happy with the joke.
The Big Bang Theory creator Bill Prady shared his thoughts via social media on Sunday.
“The Boys and Girls Club bit on the #Emmys is just awful and uncomfortable and they should bail on it @TheEmmys,” he shared via X.
