This Emmys 2024 joke shocked Meryl Streep — and divided viewers

Meryl Streep turned heads at the 2024 Emmys — and not for ordinary reasons.

The award-winning star, 75, didn't take home his usual trophy for his Hulu show “Only Murders in the Building” on Sunday night.

But, he turns heads when he reacts to an off-color joke.

While they were presenting the award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series — for which Streep was nominated — real-life husband and “It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia” co-star Rob McElhaney and wife Caitlin Olson cracked a joke at Streep's expense.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we're here to honor the playful performance that keeps everything right. They show critical support when it's really needed,” McElhaney said, as he announced the nominees in that category.

“What you're describing sounds like a jockstrap,” Olson jumped in.

“No it doesn't!” McElhenney said. The “Mythic Quest” creator and star continued, “These roles ensure that everything is secured, without this support the whole package falls apart … well, it sounds like a jockstrap.”

His wife then said, “Are you calling Meryl Streep a jockstrap?”

The camera then cuts to Streep in the audience, as McElhaney says, “No! I'm so sorry, Meryl.”

Streep mouthed, “Oh God,” pretending to be upset.

“The Bear” star Liza Colon-Zayas took home the award, making Emmys history as the first Latina to win in the category.

Fans on social media were divided over the joke.

“I don't know who wrote the #EmmyAwards tonight, but the dialogue is so bad. They just compared Meryl Streep to a jock strap. Yeah, that's too bad,” said one viewer on X, formerly Twitter.

However, another viewer commented, “Meryl Streep's reaction was as amazing as a jockstrap.”

Streep also made a splash at the Emmys for her rumored romance with Martin Short, 74.

The two looked cozy as they sat next to each other at the event and shared laughs throughout the night.

Short and Streep first sparked dating rumors at the 2024 Golden Globes in January. But, shortly after, the “Father of the Bride” alum's rep shut down the rumors.

At the time, Short's rep told E News, “They're very good friends. Nothing else.”

Short and Streep's characters on the hit Hulu show enter their own romance in the show's third season.

Short was married to a widow, Canadian actress Nancy Dollman – with whom he had three children: Catherine, 40, Oliver, 37, and Henry, 34 – from 1980 until her death from cancer in 2010.

On Streep's behalf, sources told Page Six in October that Streep and Dawn Gummer — whom she married in 1978 and have four children with: singer-songwriter Henry Wolfe, 44, and actresses Mamie Gummer, 40, Grace Gummer, 37, and Louisa Jacobson, 32. – Quietly “had been apart for over six years.”

“Only Murders in the Building” was up for 21 Emmys nominations, including Outstanding Comedy Series. Short's co-star Selena Gomez was nominated for her first acting Emmy for a primetime series, outstanding lead actress in a comedy series, but lost to “Hacks” star Gene Smart.

Steve Martin was also up for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for “Only Murderers in the Building,” but lost to “The Bear” star Jeremy Allen White, despite Emmys hosts Dan and Eugene Levy pointing out how “The Bear” did Not a comedy.