Nev Schulman Questions Whether Wins Are Really Wins During Covid

He knows a thing or two about overstatements.

And according to Nev Schulman, every winner’s name in the era of Covid will forever — unfortunately — come with a footnote.

Chatting outside “Dancing With The Stars” rehearsals in LA earlier this month, the “Catfish” creator bemoaned the fact his show had never once been nominated for an Emmy.

“We’ve been out here doing real, meaningful, moral, groundbreaking work for eight years but they rather talk about Antiques Roadshow,” he lightheartedly complained.

However 2021 might be his best shot yet, with the field of competing productions thinned out by the ongoing pandemic. Take this year’s Tony Award nominations for example: the category for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical is being contested by only one person — Moulin Rouge’s Aaron Tveit.

So if “Catfish” was the sole nominee next year, would Nev accept the award?

“Absolutely. A win is a win,” he smiled. “A win is a win.”

But he continued: “There will always be an asterisk next to this season of the NBA, and everything that happens this year including maybe even the Tonys.”

“I think though, more importantly, will I potentially be eligible to be nominated for a Tony in the future,” he added, that smile returning. “I’m feeling very good about my dancing. I’ve always had an okay singing voice so maybe Broadway is in my cards for me.”

As for next year’s Oscars, Nev proposed there be a “special edition”, concentrating on smaller budget indie films and documentaries.

It was then the host let his true sentiments be known on award season.

“My feeling about all award shows are that… they’re a little self congratulatory,” he said. “If you had a hugely successful film and you were the star of it, you already won… so why do we need a whole night of awards to remind you that you did a great job?”

“Like, the Oscars should go really to just all the people who are behind the scenes, like editors, and sound. I like all that stuff. That’s important. But I also kind of feel like once you win a big award you shouldn’t be eligible to win it again.”

“I don’t think actors are always just trying to get awards, but… there should be a cap,” he laughed. “I love Meryl Strep, but how many times is she gonna steal Oscars from other deserving actresses? How many Oscars does Meryl need!?”