Betty Gilpin seemingly jabs at OpenAI CEO Sam Altman during Emmy-winning speech
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Betty Gilpin appeared to take a jab at OpenAI CEO Sam Altman as she accepted an Emmy for winning the Guest Actress in a Comedy Series category for ‘Widow’s Bay.’
The 40-year-old actress seemingly slammed Altman as she delivered a poem reflecting on her acting journey.
After being honored on Night 2 of the 2026 Emmys on Sunday, September 6, Gilpin said, “I want to thank all of the actors I’ve met, old ladies in dressing rooms, hot guys on sets. What a privilege to spend this life laughing at crafty, watching Shakespeare in theaters, half-full and drafty.”
Betty Gilpin takes jab at Sam Altman during Emmy speech
“Our business is stupid, but actors are the bomb. From [Margo] Martindale to [Cristin] Milioti,” she stated, referring to two other Emmy winners, her ‘Mrs Davis’ co-star Martindale and longtime best friend Milioti.
While concluding her lengthy poem, ‘The Hunt’ star added, “Let’s all lean towards Sam Shepard, and less toward Sam Altman.”
Betty Gilpin reveals Hamish Linklater inspired Emmy poem
During a backstage interaction with reporters, Gilpin revealed that fellow ‘Widow’s Bay’ guest acting Emmy nominee Hamish Linklater inspired her to write the poem.
“I was on the same flight as my co-nominee Hamish Linklater. He came over to my row and asked if I had written my speech. I was like, ‘No, I’m not going to win.’
He’s like, ‘Well, you need to do that because it’s a scientific possibility, and don’t be stupid just prepare something,’” she shared.
Gilpin then claimed that Linklater “scared the sh*t out of me, so I wrote a quick manic poem, which, as you know, women have done for centuries.”
Betty Gilpin celebrates Emmy nomination for ‘Widow’s Bay’
Earlier, when Gilpin was nominated for the award, she told IndieWire, “I feel like because I’m not an actual part of the real show, I can brag about it and it’s not bragging about myself."
"I’m so glad that the exhausted people that I worked with who were like, ‘I hope we made something good. I don’t know. I’m so tired,’ they made the most brilliant thing I’ve ever seen.”
“I would say I’m not a person who gets recognized a lot, and the past two months have been the most I’ve ever gotten stopped, because people love the show. Something I was on for seven days of filming!,” Gilpin added.
