The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences has apologized for misrepresenting actor Marguerite Ray with a photo of living actor Veronica Redd in the In Memoriam segment that aired during the 48th annual Daytime Emmy Awards.
A photo of Redd appeared under the caption that identified her as Ray, who died last November, during the pre-recorded ceremony that aired Friday on CBS. Ray had a 10-year run on the CBS soap “The Young and the Restless” from 1980 to 1990 as the character Mamie Johnson. Redd took over the role in 1990 for 14 years.
Is anyone going to acknowledge the #DaytimeEmmy screw up during the memorial segment? They put up a picture of Veronica Redd instead of Marguerite Ray! They both played Mamie on #YR but still. That’s quite the mixup! Shameful :-[ #DaytimeEmmys pic.twitter.com/B298k5HCCI
— Joshua (@MrJoshie) June 26, 2021
“We sincerely apologize to the Ray family — as well as to Veronica Redd, whose image was inadvertently used instead. Each of these Daytime icons deserved better from our Academy,” NATAS said through its @DaytimeEmmys Twitter account on Saturday.
During last night’s #DaytimeEmmys telecast, the In Memoriam segment included an incorrect picture in our remembrance of the late Y&R actress Marguerite Ray. (1/3)
— Daytime Emmys (@DaytimeEmmys) June 26, 2021
NATAS said it would correct the segment on its digital platforms and for the telecast archive. The Daytime Emmy Awards returned to linear TV in 2020 after five years of producing livestream ceremonies that demonstrated the changing nature of the daytime TV marketplace. CBS came back on board with NATAS last year.
The Daytime Emmy mix-up joins a long list of flaps over posthumous tribute segments in awards shows. The annual listings during awards telecasts of prominent industry players who have died during the preceding 12 months are increasingly scrutinized for omissions and for the level of representation reflected. Both Ray and Redd are Black.
Ray was a native of New Orleans who graduated from University of California at Berkeley. She began her TV career with guest shots on such series as “Bewitched,” “The Wild Wild West,” “Ironside,” “Barnaby Jones,” “Marcus Welby, M.D.” and “Days of Our Lives.”