Emmys’ Swipe Against Felicity Huffman’s College Bribery Scheme Jail Time Blunted By Realities Of The Calendar

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If Fox aimed to take a swipe at Felicity Huffman on the 71^st Primetime Emmy Awards tonight, they missed by a wide margin – as any glance at the calendar would have shown them.

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“The producers have asked me to give a special shout-out to our previous lead actress winners who are watching from prison. Hopefully those two weeks are going to fly right by.’,” said voiceover commentator Thomas Lennon about halfway through the hostless show. “Keep your chin up,” added the self described “sherpa” for Sunday’s TV Academy ceremony on-camera.

A mildly funny dig maybe, though more of a cheap shot. Accurate? Not so much – at least not for another month.

Indicted and arrest by the feds in the nationwide college admissions scandal this spring, 2005 Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series winner Huffman was sentenced to 14 days behind bars by a judge on September 13.

Having plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud back in May, the Desperate Housewives star is the first to be sentenced among the more than 30 parents indicted in the wide spread effort of wealthy families to get their children into top schools using underhanded methods.

But here’s the thing – Huffman isn’t in prison at all right now.

Still out on the $250,000 bail bond with strict travel restrictions that she agreed to in mid-March before a federal judge in L.A., the Oscar nominee doesn’t actual surrender to Bureau of Prisons officials on October 25 to begin serving her time in a California facility.

All of which makes Lennon’s snipe more a blight on the floundering 2019 Emmys on Fox than it is on Huffman.

Once looking at 20 years incarceration for having “made a purported charitable contribution of $15,000 to participate in the college entrance exam cheating scheme on behalf of her eldest daughter,” according to the lengthy March 6 indictment, Huffman may not even end up sitting in a cell for two weeks if good behavior and other factors are taken into account by the BoP next month.

To be totally factual, unlike the Emmy producers and writers, the repeatedly apologetic Huffman was also given a year’s probation, 250 hours of community service and told to pay a fine of $30,000 by Judge Indira Talwani week before last – maybe the Emmys can make that go away for her too like they did the timing of her sentence.

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