David Letterman's Interview with Volodymyr Zelensky Nominated for the 2023 Emmy Awards
Today, on July 12, the nominees for the 2023 Emmy Awards were announced in Los Angeles. Among the nominees is an interview by popular American host David Letterman with the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, recorded in the Kyiv metro in October 2022. At that time, the Maidan Nezalezhnosti station served as a protective underground bunker where press conferences and other important events took place. For the sake of this interview, David Letterman overcame a difficult journey to Ukraine and at that time became one of the few well-known stars who took the risk of visiting the capital, which was facing weekly mass rocket attacks from Russian military criminals.
In response to the question of whether it was a good idea to come to Kyiv during the war with Russia, Letterman said that Zelensky "says things and behaves in a way that we haven't seen in a person for a very long time."
"Forget about the show. Forget about me. It was a great idea, period. It seems like for six to eight years, people talked about it as if it's like visiting another planet. And then suddenly Russia attacks Ukraine, and we meet with Volodymyr Zelensky, and he says things and behaves in a way that we haven't seen in a person for a very long time. When I first saw him, he said, 'Maybe this is the last time you and my compatriots see me alive.' And then he says, 'I don't need a taxi, I need bullets.' Winston Churchill immediately comes to mind," Letterman stated.
This interview, produced for the streaming service Netflix, is now available for free access.
The show "My Next Guest Needs No Introduction" is nominated in the category of "Outstanding Informational Series or Special."
Competing for the award in this category are "The World We Hold": Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey (Netflix), "Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy" (CNN), "Taste the Nation with Padma Lakshmi" (Hulu), and "United Shades of America with W. Kamau Bell" (CNN).
The 75th Emmy Awards ceremony is scheduled for September 18 at 8:00 PM Eastern Time on Fox, where the winners will be announced. However, the award ceremony may be postponed if the Hollywood writers' strike continues. The Writers Guild of America strike, which is currently in its eighth week, shows no signs of resolution. Emmy's organizers are discussing the possibility of rescheduling the event for a later date. If the strike is not resolved by early August, the television ceremony may be postponed for a month, potentially moving it to January.