Emmys panned online for treating Sofia Vergara like a prop, but she didn't mind

Bruce Rosenblum, chairman of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, during his speech on television industry at the Emmy Awards said: "We never forget that our success is based on always giving the viewer something compelling to watch."To demonstrate this point, he had Sofia Vergara, the Modern Family star who had just introduced Rosenblum, stand on a rotating pedestal. He talked, the pedestal rotated and the audience got a 360 degree view of her curvaceous body. Vergara is certainly more compelling than Rosenblum, but as jokes go, this one fell very flat.[caption id="attachment_1681773" align="alignleft" width="380"] Agency[/caption]It was suppose to be a gag and Vergara didn't play along without any protest. She smiled and struck sexy poses, but she also said as she got off, "That's why I stopped doing car shows."  As a gimmick, it was cringe-worthy, especially because it highlighted Emmy's "sex sells" mentality on a night when the industry is supposed to honour talent, rather than objectify it.Unsurprisingly, this Emmy moment when the charming and witty Vergara was reduced from actress to something to ogle at did not go down well with audiences at home and the backlash on social media was immediate. 

"What a wonderful time for women on television"--except for that uncomfortable Sofia Vergara thing. — Ben Greenman (@bengreenman) August 26, 2014

 

If the Emmys want to celebrate women, maybe don't put Sofia Vergara on a turntable: http://t.co/4YxZg9u2f8 http://t.co/utWoX4r1Xy — ThinkProgress (@thinkprogress) August 26, 2014

 However, though media publications like TIME magazine, Huffington post fumed at the objectifying Emmy moment, Vergara herself did not find anything wrong with it. When Entertainment Weekly asked the actress if the moment was demeaning, Vergara said, “I think its absolutely the opposite.""It means that somebody can be hot and also be funny and make fun of herself. I think it’s ridiculous that somebody started this—I know who she was—who has no sense of humor [and should] lighten up a little bit.” she added.