Gillian Anderson Finally Explained Her Iconic Emmys Moment With David Duchovny & Fans Can’t Get Enough

When Gillian Anderson won the award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series at the 1997 Emmys, she starred in one of the most viral awards show moments of all time. When her name was announced, she looked back at her The X-Files co-star David Duchovny, gave him a peck, and then looked at her boyfriend at the time, Rodney Rowland, and kissed him too.

For years, the short clip of the interaction has intrigued fans. Was Rowland okay with Anderson kissing Duchovny first? Why did Anderson kiss him first after all?

More from SheKnows

Well, Anderson recently decided to clear it all up with a video on Instagram. In it, she said she’d finally respond to why “I kissed David first and why did I not kiss my boyfriend Rodney.”

“The fact is that David and I were actually living together and Rodney was my beard,” she said dryly before quickly clarifying, “I’m joking, that’s just a joke. Is that really mean?”

“I don’t know why I kissed him first,” The Crown star then admitted. “I guess because he was on the show with me and we were practically married because we spent more time with each other than we did with our loved ones. We were there to celebrate the series and so yeah. Maybe? Maybe that’s what it was?”

For those who saw the clip and wondered what Rowland thought of the dynamic, Anderson got to the bottom of that too. “Rodney was a great guy, [I] don’t think it bothered him,” she explained. “He understood.”

“It was complex,” Anderson then admitted with a slight smirk. “That’s all I got.”

THE X-FILES: I WANT TO BELIEVE, (aka THE X FILES 2), David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, 2008, TM & Copyright ?20th Century Fox Film Corp. All rights reserved./Courtesy Everett Collection
The X Files: I Want to Believe, (aka The X Files 2), David Duchovny & Gillian Anderson.

For fans of the longtime show, Anderson’s tease about her and Duchovny’s dynamic is enough to have their heads spinning. “no please I’ve just nearly had a heart attack when u said u and David were living together,” wrote one distressed fan. “this is actually crazyyy gillovny is alive and well in the year 2024,” wrote another fan (Gillovny is their names mashed-up into one).

“Someone put ‘it was complex, that’s all I got.’ on a shirt immediately. thanks xx,” wrote another commenter. “No need to explain. We’d all kiss David first ??????,” wrote another.

Looks like instead of quieting down the rumors about her and Duchovny, Anderson managed to stir them up instead. Perhaps that was her goal after all?

Before you go, click here to see more co-star couples we’ll always wonder about. 

Bradley Cooper, Lady Gaga 17 Co-Star Couples We'll Always Wonder About
Bradley Cooper, Lady Gaga 17 Co-Star Couples We'll Always Wonder About

Best of SheKnows

Sign up for SheKnows' Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.