Emmys 2021: Yara Shahidi Presented Early To Make It To Class

Yara Shahidi is not missing her college class for anything, not even the Emmys! 

The Grown-ish actress shared with Entertainment Tonight that she requested to be an early evening presenter at the 73rd annual Primetime Emmy Awards to make it home and attend her Harvard University class. 

She was accepted into Harvard in 2017 but took a gap year before starting her coursework. 

“I do fly out tonight to make it to class in time,” Shahidi said on Sunday (Sept. 19). “The lovely people at The Academy really helped me out because I was like, ‘Guys, I have a hard out to make this flight’.” 

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The 21-year-old told ET that being able to attend the big event was “really exciting.”

“So many moments like these where we get to celebrate our work have kind of been suspended because of the pandemic, among many other important things.”  

The star presented the second trophy for the supporting actor in a comedy series category. 

She did stick around to support her Black-ish costars (Tracee Ellis Ross and Anthony Anderson). Black-ish was up for five Emmy nominations but did not come home with a win. 

“I feel like I have not had a chance sometimes to really reflect on the impact of the show,” she shared. “I mean, so many people spent the majority of their year pouring into this universe, so something like this is just such a wonderful way to roll into our final season.”