‘Downton Abbey’ star Maggie Smith responds to Jimmy Kimmel Emmy jokes

On Sunday night’s broadcast of the Primetime Emmy Awards, Maggie Smith found herself rather surprisingly among the biggest targets of host Jimmy Kimmel, and there was apparently one reason for more so than anything else: He didn’t like the fact that she repeatedly failed to show up to receive her awards despite being nominated for them many times over. As a matter of fact, Kimmel joked after she won yet another trophy for Supporting Actress in a Drama Series, Kimmel joked that he was going to put it in the lost and found.

Today, Maggie did try to have the last laugh by releasing a statement per the official Masterpiece account for the show:

“I was very astonished and pleased to win the award. I feel the Emmys have been overly generous to me. If Mr Kimmel could please direct me to the lost and found office, I will try and be on the next flight. Love, Old Maggie.”

We do think that much of Smith’s lack of Emmy attendance over the years has to do mostly with the amount of travel it would require. Her home is in the UK, and she seems to be a genuinely quiet private person who doesn’t fancy the spotlight altogether much. She also has not attended many other shows where this series was previously nominated. We do think that there are certainly other examples of actors who are frequently missing in action at these awards shows; in particular, we’re talking about other UK-based names as Idris Elba and Benedict Cumberbatch, who were not in attendance despite “Luther” and “Sherlock” being nominated.

What do you think about Smith’s response to the Emmy conversation? Share in the comments.