Natasha Lyonne Blessed Us With An Applause-Worthy Meme At The 2019 Emmys

Do you know what would be really difficult? To be nominated for an Emmy and then sit there and smile when you don't win. But if you're a seasoned actress like Natasha Lyonne, you really take it in stride. You smile, you clap. You clap and clap and clap. That's right, Natasha Lyonne clapping at the 2019 Emmys is the meme of the year, no offense at all to Nicole Kidman, of course.

Lyonne was nominated at the 71st Emmy Awards for not just one but two gold statues, one for Lead Actress in a Comedy Series and Writing for a Comedy Series, for her work on the Netflix series Russian Doll. As so often happens at these awards shows (and I should know because I'm pretty sure I've been watching them since I was a baby), Lyonne didn't win. Not because she didn't deserve it, that's always the problem isn't it? All of the nominees are deserving. Especially in the Lead Actress category; Lyonne lost to Phoebe Waller-Bridge of Fleabag as did Julia Louis-Dreyfus of Veep, Catherine O'Hara for Schitt's Creek, Rachel Brosnahan who plays The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and Christina Applegate for Dead To Me.

Of course all of these actresses were amazing, and of course they all dealt with their loss with total class. But Lyonne's applause for Waller-Bridge needed its own category for award, to be honest. Please enjoy.

I'll try to describe it for you in a word: exuberant. No, let's call Natasha Lyonne clapping in a gold dress that looked like an Emmy of its own classic. Joyful. Unique. Some might even call it Nicole Kidman-esque circa the 2017 Academy Awards. I'm sure you remember the GIF, Kidman clapping away with the longest fingers anyone has ever seen looking sort of otherworldly with her hands barely touching each other. An intentional clapping choice since she explained was jewelry-based, as per The Independent: "It was really difficult because I had a huge ring on which was not my own, but was absolutely gorgeous and I was terrified of damaging it."

I'm not sure what Lyonne's reason was for her unique clapping style but it was interesting to watch, to say the least. If clapping was an Emmy category, I feel certain she would win and then someone else would have to clap for her and then get nominated themselves. Perhaps Nicole Kidman, it would all be very meta.

Natasha Lyonne has been working as an actress since she was a little girl, starring in her first movie at the age of 6. In other words, I get the sense that she probably doesn't take the industry too seriously. At least the accolades part of it. So I think that's the spirit of her clapping like a happy toddler in her gold outfit at the Emmys. She gives off the feeling that she's just happy to hang out at a beautiful awards show and enjoy herself.

Perhaps we should all be clapping a little more like Natasha Lyonne, I'm just saying.