--- title: The Funniest Emmys 2017 Memes description: From Anna Chlumsky's reaction to Sean Spicer's onstage appearance to the squad power of the ladies of 'Big Little Lies.' canonical: https://time.com/4946098/emmys-memes-2017/ author: Raisa Bruner article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-09-18T14:20:39.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:47:21.047Z og:title: Here Are the Best Memes from the Emmys This Year og:description: From Anna Chlumsky to Oprah og:url: https://time.com/4946098/emmys-memes-2017/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt497773a00c3f1823/6988de350a4a22ee679cff19/jane-fonda-lily-tomlin-dolly-parton.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5050 og:image:height: 2841 og:image:alt: 69th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards - Show og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Here Are the Best Memes from the Emmys This Year twitter:description: From Anna Chlumsky to Oprah twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt497773a00c3f1823/6988de350a4a22ee679cff19/jane-fonda-lily-tomlin-dolly-parton.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Here Are the Best Memes of the 2017 Emmys > Sponsored content. 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Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=063d90e7-449d-439c-acdd-586f04efe6dc&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1)  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Sep 18, 2017 2:20 PM UTC  Actors Lily Tomlin, Dolly Parton, and Jane Fonda speak onstage during the 69th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on September 17, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. Actors Lily Tomlin, Dolly Parton, and Jane Fonda speak onstage during the 69th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on September 17, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. Lester Cohen—WireImage  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Sep 18, 2017 2:20 PM UTC As always, the stars turned out in full force for television’s night on Sunday evening in Los Angeles. The [69th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards](http://time.com/4945584/emmys-review-stephen-colbert/) were a parade of famous faces and unexpected appearances, with plenty of surprises in store, both in terms of awards (without _Game of Thrones_ in the running, new shows could finally find a foothold) — and special guests (hello, Sean Spicer). Here’s a roundup of the evening’s funniest memes, from the internet’s choices of swoon-worthy moments of sisterhood to reaction shots that can’t be beat. When [Sean Spicer showed up](http://time.com/4945789/sean-spicer-emmy-reactions/) onstage to mock himself, celebrities in the audience were shocked. _Veep_‘s [Anna Chlumsky](http://time.com/3853558/veep-anna-chlumsky/) had an especial wowed reaction, as did _Modern Family_‘s Sarah Hyland. > [](https://twitter.com/JarettSays/status/909571967182766080) > [](https://twitter.com/ForksFlash/status/909572855448268800) [Tituss Burgess](http://time.com/4621357/celebrity-businesses/item/tituss-burgess-2/) and his cheeky appearance in a Colbert skit will make for endless re-sharing. > [](https://twitter.com/SpencerAlthouse/status/909580506488037377) Everyone loves a good Kevin Spacey meme. > [](https://twitter.com/mashablegif/status/909603450735943681) When John Oliver got up to say thank you for an award for _Last Week Tonight_, he made sure to call out Oprah, who was seated front and center at the show — and proved to be a hit throughout the night. > [](https://twitter.com/oureric/status/909613344641994752) [The _9 to 5_ reunion](http://time.com/4945537/9-to-5-cast-emmys-reunion/) of Jane Fonda, Dolly Parton and Lily Tomlin — especially with their thinly veiled political message — was also inspiring to fans. > [](https://twitter.com/alexandergold/status/909588997810167809) The ladies of _Big Little Lies_ are serious crowd favorites and squad goals (and, ultimately, Emmys favorites too, taking home 5 trophies for their work on the HBO drama, including Outstanding Limited Series, Director, and best acting awards for [Nicole Kidman](http://time.com/4945683/nicole-kidman-emmy-speech-domestic-abuse/), Laura Dern and Alexander Skarsgård.) > [](https://twitter.com/tarantallegra/status/909582664545587200) But not all the memes have to be funny. Some, like this one of Reese Witherspoon’s acceptance speech, resonated in an era where television is still seeking broader inclusion in both on- and off-screen roles. > [](https://twitter.com/GIPHY/status/909610829451902977) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4946098/emmys-memes-2017/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4946098/emmys-memes-2017/"},"headline":"Here Are the Best Memes of the 2017 Emmys","datePublished":"2017-09-18T14:20:39.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:47:21.047Z","description":"From Anna Chlumsky's reaction to Sean Spicer's onstage appearance to the squad power of the ladies of 'Big Little Lies.'","url":"https://time.com/4946098/emmys-memes-2017/","keywords":["Newsfeed","awards","viral","memes","emmys 2017"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt497773a00c3f1823/6988de350a4a22ee679cff19/jane-fonda-lily-tomlin-dolly-parton.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Raisa Bruner","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt497773a00c3f1823/6988de350a4a22ee679cff19/jane-fonda-lily-tomlin-dolly-parton.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"69th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards - Show","caption":"69th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards - Show","creditText":"Lester Cohen—WireImage","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4946098/emmys-memes-2017/","name":"Here Are the Best Memes of the 2017 Emmys"}}]}] ```