Nate Bargatze’s Final Boys and Girls Club Donation Amount Revealed After Bold Emmys Stunt

Nate Bargatze confused and annoyed viewers of the Emmys on Sunday night with his bold strategy to keep things moving along.

During the 77th Emmy Awards, the comedian and host announced at the beginning of the show that he’d donate $100,000 to the Boys & Girls Club of America at the end of the night, with a catch—for every second somebody gave an acceptance speech longer than 45 seconds, $1,000 would be drained from the pot for each second over the time limit.

Both viewers and the people on stage alike saw a giant meter showing the amount of cash draining per second the longer speeches went, which clearly stressed out many winners. Towards the end of the night, audience members at the Emmys even began groaning anytime the meter popped up.

“That’s tough, it’s brutal,” Bargatze said during the ceremony. “What are you gonna do, though? I can’t change it—this is a game I made up and these are the rules.”

Groans are growing now after the Boys & Girls Club clock flashes up on the screen during Andor best writing win. #Emmys. pic.twitter.com/OIdxuQOT4p

— Chris Gardner (@chrissgardner) September 15, 2025

Needless to say, viewers on social media called it “awful” and “dreadful,” with one viewer comparing it to the scene from season one of HBO’s Succession where “roman promises that kid a million dollars if he got a home run and then tears the check up in front of him.”

the boys and girls club thing on the emmys is giving that succession scene where roman promises that kid a million dollars if he got a home run and then tears the check up in front of him

— caitlin (@ccahilll) September 15, 2025

The meter even went negative by night’s end, as winners eventually just stopped caring about going over or acknowledged how absurd the situation was. John Oliver even began his speech by telling Bargatze “F*** you.”

In the end, though, Bargatze added $250,000 of his own money and CBS donated $100,000, with Boys & Girls Club chief development and external relations officer Lisa Anastasi calling it a “generous surprise.”

“The $350,000 donation will be incredibly impactful to our programs and in the lives of kids and teens who attend our Clubs,” Anastasi said. “But this moment was about more than the donation for us — it was also special because it placed our mission and our Club Kids on a national stage.”