Skip to Content

Jane Lynch delivered a moving tribute to her former ‘Glee’ co-star Cory Monteith during the Primetime Emmy Awards Sunday evening.

The actress called Monteith’s passing a “painful death” for the cast and crew, “From the first time we saw Cory he had a star quality and a genuine sweetness that made it impossible not to fall in love with him.”

“And I’m here to say that all that warmth and that charm – that openhearted quality that we loved in Cory – was no act. Cory was a beautiful soul. He was not perfect, which many of us here tonight can relate to.”

“His death is a tragic reminder of the rapacious, senseless destruction that is brought on by addiction. Tonight we remember Cory for all he was and mourn the loss of all he could have been.”

Emmy show producers came under fire for opting not to honor two legendary award-winning actors, Larry Hagman and Jack Klugman, who also died in the past year.

Klugman’s son Adam slammed what he considered a terrible slight, “It’s an insult and it really seems typical of this youth-centric culture that has an extremely short attention span and panders to a very narrow demographic of young adults. They’re celebrating this self-inflicted tragedy instead of celebrating the life of my father, who won three Emmy Awards. My dad was at the inception of television and helped built it in the early days.”

Check out Jane’s speech below:

Photo Credit: WENN