Problem Plagued Emmys Miss Chris Rock

Aug. 25 -- With a new snafu over balloting unfolding, this year’s Emmys are looking to rival the trouble-plagued Oscars.

First, the Fonz was inadvertently dissed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences when one of Henry Winkler’s two nominations was found to be ineligible, and now a Chris Rock comedy special was left off the ballot altogether.

The HBO special Chris Rock: Bigger and Badder was nominated in six categories but was left off the ballot sent to the 120 people voting in the variety, music, or comedy special category, Variety reports. The other four nominees in this category were on the ballot.

John Leverence, the academy’s vice president, who administers the voting, tells the trade paper that the omission was discovered the day after the ballots were sent out and that HBO was notified immediately, as were the voters, who were contacted by phone.

Comedian Takes It In StrideNone of the incomplete ballots will be counted, Leverance says, but the voters who received them will be allowed to vote again, even though the official voting period ended Aug. 21.

He insisted that the academy’s safeguarded system will ensure that the new ballots won’t in any way balance the deck in HBO’s favor.

“This was the Academy’s error, my error, but we immediately got on the phone after we made it,”he says.

For his part, Rock isn’t sweating the mistake. “I’m not worried. I’m sure the Academy will handle it accordingly,”the stand-up comedian and actor said in a statement.

Rock has already racked up three Emmys, one for writing on his HBO talk show and two for his last HBO stand-up special, Bring the Pain.

His competition this year includes another HBO special, Eddie Izzard: Dressed to Kill, Bravo’s Cirque du Soleil — Quidam, and NBC’s Saturday Night Live: The 25th Anniversary Special.

The Emmys will be awarded Sept. 10.