Emmys 2021: Gillian Anderson confuses viewers by accepting award in American accent

‘I was very thrown,’ tweeted one fan

Gillian Anderson has left Emmy viewers confused after accepting her award using an American accent.

Anderson took home the award for Best Supporting Actress in a Television Series for her performance as Margaret Thatcher in The Crown, and her speech surprised many viewers.

Despite speaking in a British accent in the majority of her TV appearances in recent years, and playing a run of British characters of late, Anderson spoke in an American accent during her speech.

Anderson was born in Chicago, Illinois but was raised in both Puerto Rico and London. She moved back to Chicago at the age of 11. In the wake of her nine-season run on The X-Files, Anderson moved permanently back to London, where she has worked on British TV series including The Fall and Sex Education.

In her speech, she dedicated her award to her agent of 20 years, Connie Freiberg.

“It’s very very weird hearing Gillian Anderson with an American accent, I was very thrown,” tweeted one fan.

Another added: “It STILL blows my mind that Gillian Anderson is American.”

One year after a socially distanced ceremony, which celebrates the best in television, a limited amount of nominees have gathered in Los Angeles to accept their prizes.

Actor and comedian Cedric the Entertainer is on hosting duties, with The Crown and The Mandalorian leading this year’s nominations.

Other shows in contention include Lovecraft Country, WandaVision and Ted Lasso.

You can follow all the action from the evening live here.