Lily Tomlin, Alec Baldwin and Donald Glover were amongst some of the celebrities who criticised US President Donald Trump during their speeches at the 69th Primetime Emmy Awards here.

Host Stephen Colbert began his opening monologue on Sunday night and surprised the A-list crowd when he brought out former White House press secretary Sean Spicer.

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The Grace and Frankie star Lily Tomlin took to the stage with Dolly Parton and Jane Fonda, her co-stars from the classic 1980 film 9 to 5, and referenced the workplace comedy as she took aim at the President.

“Back in 1980, in that movie we refused to be controlled by a sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot. And in 2017, we still refuse to be controlled by a sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot,” said the 78-year-old.

Donald Glover, who was awarded twice at the award night, took a sly dig at Trump during his speech for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series.

“I want to thank Trump for making black people number one on the most oppressed list.”

Referring to the former reality TV star he added: “He’s the reason I’m probably up here.”

Alec Baldwin also took aim at Trump while accepting the Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for his portrayal of the President on the latest season of Saturday Night Live.

“I suppose I should say – at long last, Mr. President, here is your Emmy,” Baldwin, 59, said, referring to Trump’s complaint during a presidential debate that the awards were rigged and he “should have gotten” the trophy when his show, The Apprentice, was nominated in 2009.

“I want to thank my wife – my wife and I had three children in three years and we didn’t have a child last year during the SNL season. I wonder if there is a correlation there. All you men up there, you put that orange wig on, it’s birth control, trust me,” Baldwin added.

Stephen Colbert, the 53-year-old Late Show host, who helmed the show, pointed out that Emmy voters made a big mistake when they did not give Trump an award for The Apprentice.

“If he had won an Emmy, I bet he wouldn’t have run for President,” Colbert quipped.

Then he compared the ratings of Emmy award show to the unimpressive size of the presidential inauguration crowd, saying: “We have no way of knowing how big our audience is. I mean is there anyone who can say how big the audience is?”

He then called on former White House press secretary Sean Spicer, who stood at a podium, and announced: “This will be the largest audience to witness the Emmys, period, both in person and around the world.”