David Letterman received a nomination for an Emmy Award on Wednesday for his extended interview of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on his Netflix program, My Next Guest Needs No Introduction.
The Television Academy published its full list of nominees on Wednesday. Letterman’s show is nominated in the category of “Outstanding Hosted Nonfiction Series Or Special,” according to a report by Variety, competing against programs hosted by Stanley Tucci and former First Lady Michelle Obama.
The other nominees include The Light We Carry: Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey; Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy; the series Taste the Nation with Padma Lakshmi; and the television series United Shades Of America with Kamau Bell.
The award ceremony will take place on September 19, 2023.
In 2022, Letterman spoke with the Ukrainian president in the Kyiv metro at the Independence Square station for an episode of My Next Guest Needs No Introduction. Among the many topics discussed, Letterman asked Zelensky to predict what would happen to the war in Ukraine if Russian leader Vladimir Putin “got a really bad cold” or “accidentally fell out a window and died.”
“There would be no war,” Zelensky responded. “There wouldn’t be. The authoritarian regime is dangerous as it poses great risks. Because you can’t allow just one person to have total control over everything.”
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Notably, the Ukrainian president is also a TV actor who starred in his own show — currently on Netflix — and has appeared at various Hollywood events. Earlier this year, the Golden Globe Awards 2023 rolled out the red carpet for Zelensky.
Zelensky also receives visits from Hollywood to Kyiv, as he has a strong relationship with the entertainment industry in the United States.
Last year, the Ukrainian president accepted fellow actor Sean Penn’s Oscar trophy as a gift. The left-wing Hollywood star, who has a history of cozying up to dictators, including Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez, was seen giving one of his awards to Zelensky.
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Facebook and Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.