Here's an unpopular opinion: There are very few reasons to watch an awards show.
They last too long, none of us have any idea who most of the people are, and no matter how much soda (or white wine) you've drunk, the ratio of commercials to the times you have to actually take a break are woefully out of whack.
The Oscars. The Golden Globes. The VMAs. It's all the same. And in your heart you know it to be true!
One special moment made the 2018 Emmys just a little bit different.
If you haven't seen it — and considering my first paragraph, I'm not going to blame you — let me break down what happened down before we both dissolve into happy tears at our computers.
When Glenn Weiss, a man who has won more Emmys than most of us have fingers (12) went up to accept another statuette for his directing of the most recent Oscars ceremony, he opened his speech by thanking his mother, who passed away only two weeks ago.
“Part of my heart is broken,” Weiss said. “I don’t think it will ever be repaired.”
Then Weiss flipped the script on the usual awards show fodder. For the first time in Emmys history, the acceptance speech turned into a surprise proposal.
“Mom always believed in finding the sunshine in things and she adored my girlfriend Jan [Svendsen]," Weiss said.
“Jan, you are the sunshine in my life,” he added. “And mom was right, don’t ever let go of your sunshine. You wonder why I don’t like to call you my girlfriend? Because I want to call you my wife.”
The reaction? This GIF of Leslie Jones pretty much says it all, doesn't it?
Ready for the actual moment? I hope you've got your preferred brand of tissues ready. (Spoiler alert: She said yes!!)
This is all of us right now:
I'm 95% cynic but that remaining 5% will always cry when a guy whose mom just died proposes with his late mother's… https://t.co/2c0YuhGid3— shauna (@shauna) 1537234940.0
Find someone who looks at you the way Benedict Cumberbatch looked during that #Emmys proposal. https://t.co/gWnAQVt4l1— Frank Pallotta (@Frank Pallotta) 1537234704.0
Weiss and Svendsen have been together for more than a decade. And he'd kept the proposal under wraps from everyone but his father.
In a backstage interview, Svendsen said she'd hoped Weiss would dedicate his award to his mother. “He did, and then some," she said.
Weiss, who'd proposed with his late mother's ring, said "Now it's where it belongs."
Someone's going to have to go even bigger next year!
There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."