Producer of biker drama 'Sons of Anarchy' is uneasy rider after Emmy rant

Kurt Sutter, creator of FX's outlaw-biker drama "Sons of Anarchy," thinks he may have driven over the line.

The writer and producer is rethinking his often outspoken blog in response to negative reaction to his rant over his show's shutout in Emmy nominations, which also hurled an expletive at nominee Mariska Hargitay of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit."

On his SutterInk blog, he expressed outrage over Emmy voters' snub of "Sons of Anarchy," which stars Katey Sagal, while taking what seemed a veiled swipe at dramas such as "Glee" and "Mad Men" that did score nominations.

"Let's face it, kids, we are the dirty-faced outlaws who no one wants in their clean white town," he wrote in a post titled "We Don't Like Your Kind."  "We are too loud, too violent, too brash. We don't sing, have pretty sets or wear retro suits. They admire us from afar, wish they could do what we do, then they pull back the shades and settle for the familiar and safe. They are lazy sheep."

He thanked fans who expressed disapproval of the snub before saying, "I thrive of living outside the love circle. ... It fuels my bitterness, my over-inflated sense of self-righteousness and it makes me a more relevant artist."

He continued, "It's too easy and lazy to be angry" before adding in parentheses: "Mariska Hargitay, are you [expletive] kidding me?" Hargitay, who was nominated for outstanding lead actress in a drama for her role on the "Law & Order" spin-off, has won the award once and been nominated five times.

Many Emmy watchers predicted that Sagal, who plays the ruthless matriarch of a motorcycle gang in "Sons of Anarchy," might score a nomination in the category. "Sons of Anarchy" is one of the most popular dramas on FX and has won raves and new viewers as it prepares for its third season.

In a later post titled "And That Was My Kinder Gentler Post," Sutter, who is married to Sagal, sought to clarify his earlier statements.

"So my response to the Emmy's has somehow been spun into an angry rant," he wrote. "I don't know, maybe it was. But you should see the one I deleted."

He said no disrespect was meant for the other nominees: "As I have said many times in this blog, I am a huge Glee and Madmen [sic] fan. I was one of the flock who voted for them."

Sutter also expressed regret over his "frustrated comment about Mariska. She is a fine actress on a very popular show. It was just hard to contain my frustration about Katey. She's my wife and best friend and I was ... hurt that she was overlooked."

Sutter then got to the heart of the post --- that he may have gone too far.

"I've realized that I've carved out an unintentional niche for myself," he wrote. "I'm the hot-headed, irrational, arrogant show-runner. I'm becoming to the blogosphere what Shawn [sic] Penn was to photographers in the 80's. ... It's clear that my instanteneous and forthright approach to blogging is being spit back in my face. I guess it's the blessing and curse of notoriety. This mea culpa will probably be spun into something ugly as well."

He added, "I'd probably be better off pulling the plug. ... It seems that I've already alienated a chunk of Hollywood ... or at least the members of the Television Academy."

Sutter concluded by writing, "I'm gonna pull back, reassess and figure out the right thing to do ... for a change."

Photo: Katey Sagal. Credit: Ray Mickshaw / FX

-- Greg Braxton

RELATED:

An Emmy snub for 'Sons of Anarchy's Katey Segal

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Comments

[killertv]

Sutter not only runs one of the best shows on television, but one of the best blogs on television as well. His commentary on the business provides a frank and unfiltered view of an industry often not discussed in such a light. For lack of a better comparison, he is to showrunners what Nikki Finke is to reporters. The unfortunate thing is not what Sutter writes but the way in which the rest of the celebrity-oriented media abuse his words by quoting out of context (thankfully I think this article did a good job summarizing both posts). Everyone knows the entertainment business is very subjective and it will be a loss to lose this person's very subjective point of view. At least we will still have his show.

[Tee]

Great show, I hope it lasts many more seasons.

[tim]

he doesn't need to apologize---there are some great actors and shows that never get nominated--sons of anarchy (for the time being) is just one of them.

[bigpeeler]

Maybe if Kurt introduced a gang of gay bikers who danced down the street to some auto-tuned soundtrack instead of riding their bikes, he'd get some recognition from those morons at the Emmy awards. Hang in there, Kurt. True 1%er.

[becca]

sons of anarchy is a great show and deserves more recognition than it got but i am happy he apologized for his swipe at mariska bc she is a good actress and she doesnt have control over who gets nominated. she is an incredible person and wouldve been excited for katey if she was nominated in her place. but i am all for free speech, just not when it attacks those who dont deserve it. attacking the emmy voters is one thing, attacking mariska is another. but like i said, it showed grace that he apologized to her

[Cocoa]

"She's my wife and best friend "

What a coincidence! LAMO!! idiot,

[TMZ]

I don't have a problem with his original rant except for the part where he mentions Hargitay. You can't lay the blame at her feet and you can't single people out.

[Mark]

I understand Kurt Sutter's need to speak up and be outraged by the omission of "Sons of Anarchy" on the Emmy list of nominees. I, for one, agree that Katey Sagal is a very good and terribly underrated actress. In addition to her work on SOA, I think she gave a beautifully rendered performance as John Locke's partner on "Lost". She could easily have been nominated in the Guest Actress category for her heartfelt work there.

Still, I agree with Becca's post. Taking a swipe at Mariska Hargitay is NOT the way to express your frustration about Sagal's failure to get a rightfully deserved Emmy nod. Hargitay is a wonderful actress as well and lends a certain gravitas and emotional response to her show that it otherwise might not have. To reiterate what Becca said, Hargitay has no control over who is nominated and having won previously, I hardly think she would begrudge anyone their time in the spotlight. Still, that said, Sutter showed class in apologizing for his swipe at Hargitay.

[Billiam]

But really, many of us (including critics) have I'm sure said similar comments to "Are you kidding me?" about the idea that Hargitay did better work than Sagal. It was a slam at the Emmy voters more than at Hargitay. Of course, considering his position, his comment was labeled at "over the line" but I actually kind of love his frankness.

[Ron]

Boohoo, they didn't nominate my wife either.

[NUNYA]

What!? The world and yourself mister should be so lucky that show even gets aired! If you even had half the talent of the Mariska Hargitay and the writers of Law and Order SVU, maybe there would be an emmy involved.

[Amanda]

That's right, you better take back what you said about Mariska!! Shebseems to be doing something right if she keeps getting nominated!! She is awesome, and beautiful... Don't hate! CONGRATULATE!

[Gale Force]

He is absolutely right.

[dg]

Sutter is a loud-mouthed, shoot first think second incendiarian. But he's also an immensely talented, sensitive writer and producer. I can live with the former to get the latter. And it sounds like maybe he's growing up. Let's hope he can keep his edge and loose some of the silly, cliched "outsider" trappings. I love the show.

[Amy]

I don't actually think his "swipe" at Mariska Hargitay was toward HER, personally, more toward making the point that the show for which she was nominated is in its, what, like 83rd season, and is fairly routine, acting-wise; whereas SOA is fresh, original, and much more dramatic, acting-wise, than any of the (many & varied) Law & Order spin-offs ever dared to be.