#12: Unforgettable Speech by Helen Mirren
When: 58th Primetime Emmy Awards, 2006
It was a moment of censor overload at the 58th Emmy Awards when the ever-sassy Dame Helen Mirren took to the stage to claim her third Emmy for Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie, portraying none other than Queen Elizabeth I. But playing royalty clearly hadn’t curbed Mirren’s penchant for colorful language. Ascending the stage with the grace befitting a queen, Mirren said something not very ladylike…
To the shock of many, the censors failed to bleep out Mirren’s cheeky remark, leaving viewers across the nation both amused and slightly scandalized. Whether it was her charmingly thick accent, regal presence, or the assumption that she wouldn’t dare swear on live TV, the slip-up only added to Mirren’s endearing charm on that memorable evening.