Who is Hannah Einbinder? Emmy-winner explained as controversial award speech censored

One of the stars from a now Emmy award winning show had their speech censored when picking up their own award.

Hannah Einbinder has been nominated for each season of Hacks since it began airing in 2021, in the Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series category at the Emmys. That meant she was celebrating her first win from a fourth nomination during last night's ceremony in Los Angeles.

However, as she took to the stage, she not only went over the 45 second allotted time for speeches, but also made comments that were edited for the television broadcast. But who is Hannah Einbinder? What is she famous for and what did she say in her speech? Here's all you need to know.

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Who is Hannah Einbinder?

Hannah Einbinder is an American actress and stand-up comedian from Los Angeles. She grew up in LA and her mother is one of the original Saturday Night Live cast members Laraine Newman.

She previously studied broadcast journalism before earning a degree in television writing and production. After graduating, she begun her career in stand-up, making her TV debut in 2020 on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

Einbinder is Jewish and identifies as bisexual. It is believed she is currently single after she confirmed during an interview she had been dating fellow comedian Alex Edelman but their relationship had since ended.

Now 30, she is best known for playing struggling comedy writer Ava Daniels in the HBO comedy drama, Hacks. She still performs stand-up with HBO releasing her first special, Hannah Einbinder: Everything Must Go, in 2024.

Einbinder has been cast in an upcoming slasher movie, titled Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, opposite Gillian Anderson.

What did Hannah Einbinder say in her Emmys speech?

In her speech, she said: "Thank you, wow. I really, sorry. I was just really committed to the personal narrative that I had that it's actually cooler to continue to lose. I was pretty committed to that. Had to be, right? But, this is cool too, this is also punk rock."

She went on to thank Hacks creators Jen Statsky, Paul W. Downs and Lucia Aniello for "changing my life in every conceivable way, but not just by giving me a great gig, but by being my friends and being my family."

Emotionally, she included a tribute to her co-star: "I want to thank Jean Smart, who is like the sun , and I just to stand in her warmth. And I also want to thank the cast and crew of Hacks, and I'll pay the difference (to charity for going over her time)."

However, she ended the speech by saying: "Sorry. Finally, I just want to say, I just want to say. Finally, go birds, f*** ICE and free Palestine. Thank you."

It was her use of the expletive that was censored and bleeped out of the awards show broadcast.

What has Hannah Einbinder said about her speech since?

Einbinder was asked backstage to expand on her comments, while standing next her co-star Jean Smart, along with her decision to sign a pledge boycotting Israeli film institutions.

She said: "I thought it was important to talk about Palestine because it’s an issue that’s very dear to my heart. I have friends in Gaza who are working as frontline workers, as doctors right now in the north of Gaza, to provide care for pregnant women and for school children to create schools in the refugee camps. And it’s an issue that’s really close to my heart for many reasons.”

She continued: “I feel like it is my obligation as a Jewish person to distinguish Jews from the State of Israel, because our religion and our culture is such an important and long standing institution that is really separate to this sort of ethno-nationalist state.

"In terms of the pledge, it’s like many movements, boycotting is an effective tool to create pressure on the powers that be to meet the moment, you know. So the film workers for Palestine boycott does not boycott individuals, it only boycotts institutions that are directly complicit in the genocide. So, it’s important to me, and I think it’s an important measure, and so I was happy to be a part of it."