‘It’s the thing people are afraid to talk about’: Tina Fey on the real reason Clinton lost election

TINA Fey has taken a jab at Donald Trump’s election win while accepting an award — saying she knows the real reason Hillary Clinton lost.

Tina Fey at The Hollywood Reporter's 2016 Women in Entertainment Breakfast in LA.

TINA Fey has taken a jab at Donald Trump’s election win while accepting an award — saying she knows the real reason Hillary Clinton lost.

Accepting The Hollywood Reporter’s Sherry Lansing Award in Los Angeles overnight, the 46-year-old told the audience she promised herself she wouldn’t discuss the election during her speech, but couldn’t help floating one small theory.

“I have to say, I think the real reason that Hillary lost — and it’s the thing that people are afraid to talk about: not enough celebrity music videos urging people to vote,” she joked. “I just think if there had been, like, one more funny rap, or like, another Hamilton parody, or something. Just like a little more hustle from Liz Banks, and we coulda taken Michigan.”

Fey accepts the Sherry Lansing Award at The Hollywood Reporter's Women in Entertainment Breakfast.

And the actress and writer wasn’t done riffing on the celebrity public service announcements.

“I bring it up, actually, because the structure of those celebrity ‘get out the vote’ videos always brings me joy, because you start first with the dedicated people who agreed to show up for, like, a full weekend at the studio and then, like, record the whole thing and film it, and then by the second verse you get the people who agreed to participate, from, like, the steps of their trailer. Looking at you, Jane Lynch,” she said.

“And then it always just ends with Patti LuPone singing one line from her basement into a phone. And I feel like that’s the career trajectory we all want, right? We’re all just punching the clock until we can be basement LuPones.”

Fey takes a moment to make a serious point about women in the industry.

With the event a part of The Hollywood Reporter’s Women in Entertainment Power 100 breakfast, Fey also spoke about the power women have in the industry, and the importance of saying no. While her thoughts were honest, she also took the opportunity to take a timely gibe at the butter scene in the movie Last Tango in Paris. The film’s director, Bernardo Bertolucci, made headlines this week when he revealed the infamous sex scene was made without the actress’ consent.

“Whether it’s writing a pilot for a bad actor, or the butter scene in Last Tango in Paris, or telling Roger Ailes to put his hamburger meat back in the freezer, feeling like you can say ‘no’ without any negative repercussions is an important kind of power,” she said. “And it’s one that we can help each other have — by believing and supporting each other.”

Originally published as ‘It’s the thing people are afraid to talk about’: Tina Fey on the real reason Clinton lost election