The Harvard student had a responsible reason for wanting to cut out of the awards show early.
Yara Shahidi didn't want the Emmys to get in the way of her school work. Before heading into Sunday's ceremony, the 21-year-old Black-ish actress told ET's Nischelle Turner and Kevin Frazier why she requested to present an award early in the show.
"I do fly out tonight to make it to class in time," the Harvard student, who presented the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series award to Ted Lasso's Brett Goldstein, told ET. "... The lovely people at The Academy really helped me out because I was like, 'Guys, I have a hard out to make this flight.'"
In addition to her presenting duties, Shahidi was on hand in support of Black-ish, which is currently shooting its final season. While the show, which was up for five trophies, including Outstanding Comedy Series, didn't come out victorious this time, Shahidi was thrilled to be at the ceremony to celebrate its nods in person.
"It is really exciting," she said of being at the Emmys. "So many moments like these where we get to celebrate our work have kind of been suspended because of the pandemic, among many other important things."
The ceremony, Shahidi told ET, was "just a great moment to look at what we have done."
"I feel like I have not had a chance sometimes to really reflect on the impact of the show," she said. "I mean, so many people spent the majority of their year pouring into this universe, so something like this is just such a wonderful way to roll into our final season."
The 2021 Primetime Emmy Awards, hosted by Cedric the Entertainer, aired live Sunday, Sept. 19 on CBS and Paramount+. For complete Emmys coverage, keeping checking in with ETonline.com, and tune in to Entertainment Tonight.
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