Sarah Paulson’s Emmy’s Speech Has Us Wondering: What Are Mouth-Wetting Drops?!

The crowd cheered — and so did we — when Sarah Paulson won her first Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress In A Limited Series Or Movie for American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson. But Paulson kicked off her acceptance speech on an interesting note: "I had one of those mouth wetting drops," she told the crowd. "And now I can't feel my face, so this is a problem." And so a Refinery29 investigation ensued. What the heck, dear friends, is a mouth-wetting drop? A quick Google search answered our question: Companies like TheraBreath produce lozenges for folks that get dry mouth, a condition that's probably pretty common when you're nervous on a stage in front of millions of viewers. But now we're wondering how many other celebrities use this trick before speeches during award shows. Don't worry, y'all; we'll make sure to ask stars on future red carpets. Facial issues aside, Paulson was still able to deliver a moving speech. "The more I learned about the real Marcia Clark — not the two-dimensional cardboard cutout I saw on the news, but the complicated, whip-smart, giant-hearted mother of two who...dedicated herself to righting an unconsciousable wrong," she said, "the more I had to recognize that I — and the rest of the world — had been wrong and superficial in my judgement. I'm glad to stand here in front of you today and tell you: I'm sorry." So tonight we got a poignant speech from Paulson and a trick for speaking publicly. Nice.