On Friday, Silicon Valley star T.J. Miller was arrested for battery in Los Angeles after a Trump-related fight with his Uber driver. He was reportedly on his home from the GQ Man of the Year awards when he and his driver got into a tiff that apparently turned into a slap fight in which the driver was hit, called the police, and demanded a citizen’s arrest which resulted in Miller being taken in and charged.
The actor posted bail and has promised to appear in court so he is free to continue working at this time, but that doesn’t mean returning to certain projects won’t be a bit awkward while he sorts his legal issues out. Case in point, his job as host of this year’s Critics Choice Awards which are taking place in Santa Monica on Sunday night. Miller teased that he would use his hosting obligations to “address the elephant in the room” on Twitter, although how he might go about that is still unknown.
Tonight I will address the elephant in the room at @CriticsChoice on A&E. Tune in and find out.
— t.j. miller (@nottjmiller) December 11, 2016
The Critics Choice Awards event is one of the more casual and fun awards that Hollywood holds each winter, so it’s not as if Miller will be bringing up his Donald Trump-related assault on an Emmy’s telecast or anything like that. Still, it’s unorthodox for an actor to promise a direct acknowledgement of legal issues while on stage.
Knowing Miller, he will most likely do so with a wink and a smile — if not some self-deprecating and inappropriate humor. It certainly gives people a reason to tune in, which if nothing else is a win for Miller and his job as host.
UPDATE: Miller didn’t directly address his arrest but turned the “elephant” into a Trump joke. In other words, he managed to avoid a direct reference: “We have to cover the elephant in the room … The Russians hacked the election.”