The comedian made a joke about oral sex, resurfacing a 2014 interview with DJ Khaled.

Emmy producers say John Mulaney’s bleeped joke was not rehearsed: ‘John’s gonna do John’

The comedian made a joke about oral sex, resurfacing a 2014 interview with DJ Khaled.

By Shelby Stivale

Shelby Stivale

Shelby Stivale is a senior writer at **. She has been working at EW since July 2026. Her work has previously appeared on Us Weekly and J-14.

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September 15, 2026 2:09 p.m. ET

John Mulaney arrives for the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards. Credit:

Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty

- John Mulaney left his oral sex joke out of Emmys rehearsals, the show’s producers shared.

- The comedian referenced a 2014 interview with DJ Khaled in which the musician said he would “never” perform the sex act.

- “John’s gonna do John!” executive producer Jeannae Rouzan-Clay said.

John Mulaney went rogue.

The 2026 Emmy producers confirmed to *Variety** *on Tuesday that, even though the comedian rehearsed his segment, they were not given a heads up about Mulaney’s cunnilingus joke.

“John’s gonna do John!” executive producer Jeannae Rouzan-Clay said of the joke, which resurfaced a 2014 DJ Khaled interview where the musician said he would “never” perform oral sex on a woman.

Mulaney brought up the moment while presenting the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series category. The bit featured Mulaney explaining why the nominees — Noah Wyle, who won for his role in *The Pitt*, Mark Ruffalo, Sterling K. Brown, Gary Oldman, and Rufus Sewell — embodied men.

John Mulaney speaks on stage during the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards.

Trae Patton/NBC via Getty

“Some of the men in this category do Method acting, and some do regular, less annoying acting,” Mulaney quipped. “But no matter what, when these fellas hit their mark, they know all their lines. Why? Because they started looking at their sides earlier that morning.”

As he went on, Khaled’s name was brought up, joking about his “real men don’t go down on their wife” comment. The quip quickly became the only bleeped out moment from the night. “These nominees know that that is BS. They know there’s often less pressure on them if they do that first,” Mulaney continued.

“When you’re broadcasting to the audience at home and you want a family-friendly environment,” Jen Neal, NBCUniversal’s EVP of Live Events & Specials, told *Variety*. “There are just different [standards and practices] rules. Rules are the rules!”

The crowd went wild for Mulaney’s joke. Ruffalo was shown nodding enthusiastically while Wyle appeared embarrassed as his wife, Sara Wells, hid her face as she laughed behind her husband.

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Khaled’s comments have been resurfaced several times over the years following his initial interview on New York Power 105.1’s *Breakfast Club**.*

“If you holding it down for your woman, I feel like the woman should praise,” he said at the time, noting that “a man should praise the queen.” He does that by asking: “How was dinner? You like the house you living in? You like all them clothes you getting?”

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When asked about performing oral sex, Khaled said it’s “never” something he would do. (Khaled has been married to wife Nicole Tuck since 2017.)

“You gotta understand, I’m the don. I’m the king,” he continued at the time. “It’s different rules for men. We the king, so there’s some things y’all might not wanna do, [but] it gotta get done. I just can’t do what you want me to do. I just can’t.”

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Source: “EW Emmys”