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The most satisfying tradition of the Webby Awards, which honors the best of the Internet, is the brevity of its acceptance speeches. When limited to just five words, honorees are freed from the pressure — and the awkwardness — of standing onstage in front of an audience to deliver a thank-you to everyone who made the award possible.
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During Tuesday night’s 17th annual ceremony, hosted by Patton Oswalt at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City, A-listers within the worlds of entertainment, digital media and technology accepted their Webbys with sharp wit and geeky self-deprecation, sometimes breaking the rules to deliver six-word missives. Here are some of the best:
“Why five words? It doesn’t … .” — Jerry Seinfeld (Outstanding Comedic Performance for his web series Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee).
“The Oscars should do this.” — Kevin Spacey and Dana Brunetti (Special Achievement Award for producing Netflix’s House of Cards).
“Ladies and gentleman, Beyonce!” — actor Ken Marino, introducing Ben Stiller, Special Achievement Award recipient for executive producing Yahoo’s Burning Love. Stiller added: “Gracias.”
“This is more than five words. Six! Thanks!” — singer Grimes (Artist of the Year).
“Treat others with empathy.” — Minnesota Vikings’ Chris Kluwe (Athlete of the Year).
“It’s pronounced ‘Jif’ not ‘Gif.'” — Steve Wilhite, inventor of the .GIF file (Lifetime Achievement).
“Anyone want a free Webby?” — The Onion (Best Humor Site).
“Curiosity kills ignorance. Encourage Science.” — NASA’s Curiosity Rover (Overall Social Presence).
“Made possible by Mitt Romney.” — Obama for America (Breakout of the Year).
“Like cable news, only watchable.” — HuffPost Live (Video Channels/Networks: News & Information).
“F–k yeah. F–k yeah. F–k.” — Tumblr (winner of five Webbys including Best Community).
“Still can’t pay my rent.” — Brandon Stanton, creator of Humans of New York (People’s Voice Webby for culture blog).
“I’m in Los Angeles, kind of working like a madman. Means a lot, though, thanks.” — Frank Ocean, accepting his Person of the Year award via satellite while totally ignoring the 5-word rule. (Because he’s Frank Ocean, and he can.)
Check out the full roster of winners here, and the Seinfeld speech below.
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