Andy Samberg Calls Out Lack Of Diversity At Emmys

Andy Samberg is already killing it as this year's Emmys host. During his opening sketch, the comedian wasted no time calling out a major issue of this year's show; during his monologue, Samberg criticized the lack of diversity at the Emmys and in Hollywood overall. "I'm perfect to host because I'm white," he sang. It was the first line to make viewers everywhere cheer and it assured any doubters that he's the perfect host for this year's festivities. As he began his monologue, Samberg continued to make spot-on jabs: "Racism is dead. Don't fact check that." (Yeah, seriously — don't.)

It's refreshing to see Samberg be honest and aware about Hollywood's diversity problem — but it would be even better if he had no material to mock when it comes to this subject. To be fair, strides were made this year and the Emmy nominations represent the progress, with actresses like Taraji P. Henson and Viola Davis getting honored — but it's minimal and long overdue. Still, let's focus on the positive for a moment: nine out of the 40 acting nominees this year are people of color, which is a huge increase compared to the 2014 Emmys.

Fingers crossed that the Emmys and other award shows can continue to make huge strides every year going forward. But, some major changes need to be made in Hollywood before we'll have a truly diverse landscape. Time reported in July that, as of the 2012-2013 season, network and studio heads were 96 percent white and 71 percent male. Those sobering stats shed a lot of light on why people of color aren't seeing themselves represented on-screen, as well as why so few shows can honestly be described as feminist.

Samberg's comments are getting a lot of love on social media, and it shows that viewers are eager to see more diversity on our screens. Let's hope network heads are listening, because they'd be well-advised to give the people what they want.