Kidman appeared in the audience to claim Hargitay stole her “bit.”

Mariska Hargitay spoofs Nicole Kidman’s AMC Theatres ad during Emmys opening monologue

Kidman appeared in the audience to claim Hargitay stole her “bit.”

By Leigh Blickley

on September 14, 2026 11:29 p.m. ET

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Mariska Hargitay and Nicole Kidman at the 2026 Emmys. Credit:

Kevin Winter/Getty; NBC

- Mariska Hargitay spoofed Nicole Kidman’s AMC ad, in front of Nicole Kidman, at the Emmys.

- Hargitay switched the premise from movies to TV for the occasion.

- Kidman’s ad has become a viral sensation since its debut in 2021.

Humans love gathering around the light to tell stories, and actors love stealing other actors’ bits at awards shows.

Mariska Hargitay did just that when she spoofed Nicole Kidman’s now iconic AMC Theatres ad in her opening monologue at the 2026 Emmys on Monday night. She referenced Kidman’s highly meme-d commercial for the movie theater chain while hosting TV’s biggest night.

“Since the beginning of time, humans have all gathered around the light to tell stories,” Hargitay began. “Back then, it was the fire in a cave and now it’s the screen of your choice. But no matter how we watch, and even though we’re worlds apart, we’re all still holding a bit of that communal light. And, at the end of the day, we come to TV for magic, to laugh, to cry, to care. Because we need that. All of us. That indescribable feeling that we get when the lights begin to dim. Dazzling images on the silver screen, sounds I can feel....”

As Hargitay continued, Kidman interjected from the audience, “No, Mariska, come on.”

“What?” Hargitay replied.

Mariska Hargitay at the 78th Emmy Awards held at Peacock Theater.

Rich Polk/Variety via Getty

“That’s mine. That’s my bit. You can’t do that,” Kidman insisted as the star-studded crowd laughed.

“No, no, Nicole, I’m not,” Hargitay stated before launching back into her sketch. “Somehow, heartbreak feels good in a place like this...”

“Stop. No, no. Come on, that’s my line. That is *actually* my line,” Kidman quipped.

“Zip it, movie lady. It’s TV’s turn tonight,” Hargitay concluded.

Nicole Kidman reveals the magic spell she performs ‘if I’m a little bit upset with someone’

See all the celebrity looks at the 2026 Emmys

Kidman’s AMC ad first appeared on TV and in theaters in September 2021 and was intended to increase attendance at the movies following the pandemic. It sparked many internet jokes and Halloween costumes, and was previously mocked in a Jimmy Kimmel bit at the 2023 Oscars.

“I’m happy to see that Nicole Kidman has finally been released from that abandoned AMC where she has been held captive for almost two full years now,” Kimmel joked as host of the awards show. “It’s good to have you back. And thank you for encouraging people who are already at the movie theater to go to the movies.”

Of the ad, written by Billy Ray, Kidman said she never expected it to have a shelf life and assumed “it would play for six months.”

“It was something to try and entice people into the theaters during COVID,” Kidman confirmed to CNN earlier this year. “As soon as I see it come on [in the theater], I run out. But my children have seen [people cheering] with their friends, and that’s kind of cool. That holds more weight to them than most things.”

Ray spoke of his script for the commercial in 2022, telling *Variety*, “I will say that line, ‘Somehow, heartbreak feels good in a place like this,’ I knew that was staying, for sure. It’s kind of my favorite line I ever wrote in my life.”

**Watch EW and PEOPLE’s interview with *The Pitt* star Katherine Lanasa on the Emmys red carpet below.**

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Original Article on Source

Source: “EW Emmys”