The International Emmy Founders Award (or Founders Award) is given by the
International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences
The International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (IATAS) is an American nonprofit membership organization, based in New York City, composed of leading media and entertainment executives across all sectors of the television industry, from ov ...
to individuals whose creative accomplishments have contributed in some way to the quality of global television production. The awards ceremony has taken place in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
since 1980.
Winners
Rescinded awards
Kevin Spacey (2017)
Actor and producer
Kevin Spacey
Kevin Spacey Fowler (born July 26, 1959) is an American actor. He began his career as a stage actor during the 1980s, obtaining supporting roles before gaining a leading man status in film and television. Spacey has received various accolades ...
was chosen to be the recipient of the award for 2017, but the International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences later tweeted a reversal of their decision, following accusations of sexual misconduct by Spacey in 1986 towards a then-14-year-old
Anthony Rapp
Anthony Deane Rapp (born October 26, 1971) is an American actor and singer who originated the role of Mark Cohen in the Broadway production of ''Rent''. Following his original performance of the role in 1996, Rapp reprised it in the film version ...
.
Andrew Cuomo (2020)
Andrew Cuomo
Andrew Mark Cuomo ( ; ; born December 6, 1957) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 56th governor of New York from 2011 to 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected to the same position that his father, Mario Cuo ...
, who was the
Governor of New York
The governor of New York is the head of government of the U.S. state of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has ...
at the time, received the award during the 2020 ceremony for his daily briefings during the early stages of the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
, which the International Academy said "effectively created television shows, with characters, plot lines, and stories of success and failure".
However, shortly after Cuomo's resignation on August 24, 2021, following a report by the state attorney general into allegations of sexual harassment, the academy rescinded his award.
References
External links
''Official'' Website
{{International Emmy Award categories
International Emmy Awards
International Emmy Award winners
International Emmy Founders Award winners