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Chelsea Handler delivered a roast of A-list stars during her opening monologue at the 30th Annual Critics Choice Awards, held at Barker Hangar in Santa Monica on Friday.
The comedian, 49, took aim at Blake Lively, 37, and Justin Baldoni’s, 41, ongoing legal battle, before poking fun of Nicole Kidman’s Babygirl sex scenes and teasing Ariana Grande for ‘dating a munchkin’ during the star-studded show.
Chelsea, who introduced herself as ‘your DEI host’, started by roasting It Ends With Us stars Blake and Justin, who were not present, as she thanked them for providing the country with a ‘distraction.’
‘Waking up every day not knowing what news we are going to hear that will disappoint or horrify us, it is so important in times like these to have a distraction, and that’s why I want to personally extend my gratitude to Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively. Thank you for providing us with that distraction. I’m grateful, we’re all grateful.’
‘I think everybody in this room, no matter whose side you’re on, we can all agree to accept that there’s probably not gonna be a sequel,’ she joked.
‘It ends with us, guys,’ Chelsea, who hosted the show for the third time, humorously added.
The It Ends With Us stars’ showdown has completely captivated the globe and has even now erupted into a massive legal battle involving multiple lawsuits and a slew of shocking claims, including accusations of sexual harassment.
The former E! late night talk show host went on to rib Ariana, 31, and her relationship with Wicked co-star Ethan Slater, 32, making a pun at the 5′ 7″ actor’s role in the movie as well as his height.
She told the crowd: ‘It’s nice to see some of our most beloved child stars grown up and thriving. Miley Cyrus, Selena Gomez, Ariana Grande are all nominated tonight. ‘
‘And now Ariana has even found love with a munchkin,’ she added in regards to Slater, who plays a Munchkin named Boq in the 2024 film adaptation of the musical Wicked.
After hearing the crowd’s surprised reaction, she said: ‘That’s good news, everybody.’
She went on: ‘It wasn’t just the young actresses. We had a 95-year-old female action star, June Squibb. How cool is that?’
‘From Ariana to June, to succeed this year, you had to either survive Nickelodeon or World War II.’
‘I saw that documentary and Nickelodeon looked harder,’ she quipped.
She also joked about Ariana and her co-star Cynthia Erivo’s emotional Wicked press tour, telling the crowd, ‘I loved the Wicked press tour, the two of them were all over each other,’ before adding, ‘I remember the first time I did molly.’
Chelsea then poked fun of Nicole’s steamy sex scenes in Babygirl.
‘There were so many incredible musical performances: Zoe Saldana in Emilia Perez, that was beautiful, Sing Sing, which is not a musical but I thought it would be. Nicole Kidman in Babygirl face down in a carpet.’
‘Okay, technically Babygirl wasn’t a musical, but she definitely hit a few notes I’ve never heard before.’
Nicole was pictured burying her head in her hands after the joke.
Chelsea also made a hilarious comment about Hollywood legend Ralph Fiennes, after she mentioned his film Conclave, where he stars as Cardinal Lawrence.
‘Ralph Fiennes, don’t think I’m not gonna talk about you. You’ve played a ruthless Nazi, evil Lord Voldemort, and now a celibate Cardinal, and somehow made me want to have sex with you in all three movies,’ she quipped as the camera panned to Ralph, who was pictured laughing.
Chelsea went on: ‘I am not alone. You’ve made some truly unsexy people, very sexy. I’m begging you, please never play Vladimir Putin. I can’t do that again.’
‘And my other big takeaway from Conclave you Vatican b*****s really love to gossip.’
Later in her opener Chelsea joked about first lady Melania Trump.
‘Musicals weren’t the only incredible films this year, we also had movies for straight people. It was a huge year for biopics. A Complete Unknown about Bob Dylan. Maria about Maria Callas. And Anora about Melania Trump.’
Anora is a comedy-drama film that follows the story of a young woman named Anora (played by Mikey Madison) who works as a stripper in Brooklyn, before meeting and marrying the son of a wealthy Russian oligarch.
Chelsea then quipped that Janelle James’ character from the show Abbott Elementary is ‘so incompetent’ that she was surprised Janelle ‘hasn’t been tapped to run the real department of education.’
Chelsea then teased Kristen Bell, the star of Netflix series Nobody Wants This.
‘Hollywood was on the vanguard of social justice this year,’ she said, adding, ‘Netflix fought back against the rising tide of anti-semitism by having Kristen Bell get penetrated by a sexy rabbi.’
Another star who received a mention in her opening monologue was Irish heartthrob Colin Farrell, whose HBO series The Penguin is nominated in a number of categories.
‘While we talk about incredible TV, I would be remiss to not mention Colin Farrell. Colin spent four hours every day transforming into the Penguin. So I guess now we know how long it takes to make Colin Farrell unf***able.’
‘Honestly, I’d still hit those flippers,’ she joked, as the camera caught Colin’s surprised reaction.
Demi Moore was also mentioned, as Chelsea told the crowd: ‘I want you to know that you are in good hands. If there’s one thing I can assure you, it’s that I’m very professional when it comes to having a good time. I’ve been doing it for as long as Demi Moore has been acting and I, too, hope to receive an award for it finally.’
Chelsea also touched on her former stint as late night host: ‘I spent seven years on this network, I was the only woman hosting a late-night show. Now 11 years later, look how far we’ve come. In 2025, the easiest way for a woman to get a late-night show is to get the creators of Hacks to write a fictional story about it.’
She capped off her segment with a joke about actress Cheryl Hines and her husband Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s recent Senate hearings.
‘On a less personal note and in the spirit of making tonight a celebration, I want you all to know that you’re in good hands. Some of you will win. Some of you will lose. Some of you will be in the background questioning your life choices like Cheryl Hines at a Senate confirmation hearing.’
Fans took online following the opener to share their reactions.
‘chelsea never holds back love her energy at award shows!’ one wrote.
Speaking of the Justin and Blake drama, one wrote, ‘ouch, still a little too fresh for that.’
Another added, ‘Seriously, let’s let it end with us.’
‘CHELSEA MAKING JOKES ABOUT ARIANA AND CYNTHIA BEING ALL OVER EACH OTHER AND #him BEING A MUNCHKIN OHHHHH.’
‘NOT CHELSEA HANDLER CALLING OUT ARIANA FOR ETHAN??? SHE WENT THERE.’
Anora was the shock upset winner of Best Picture at the ceremony.
It’s surprise win followed Demi Moore’s triumph in the Best Actress category for her body-horror film The Substance and Adrien Brody in the Best Actor category for the acclaimed historical epic The Brutalist.
The verité-style comedy Anora stars Mikey Madison as an adult dancer who impetuously marries the son of a Russian oligarch, only to have his handlers go to shocking ends to annul the marriage.
She and writer, director and editor Sean Baker lost out on earlier awards before their film was ultimately triumphant.
Moore emerged triumphant at the age of 62 when she won Best Actress for her satirical body-horror film The Substance.
‘This has been such a wild ride,’she gushed as she took to the stage.
Demi praised critics for giving her the award, which she said was a ‘healing balm to the very issue the film brings forward.’
She stars in The Substance as a former Oscar winner and now the host of a popular aerobics TV show who is unceremoniously fired once she turns 50 by a piggish network executive (Dennis Quaid).
She learns of the eponymous Substance, which allows her to share the body of a younger woman (Margaret Qualley) to regain her throne, but the concoction has some stomach-churning effects on both of their bodies once they start a tug of war over who will stand in the spotlight.
Adrien Brody also cemented his Oscars-frontrunner status after winning Best Actor for The Brutalist, and Zoe Saldaña shocked viewers and awards season observers earlier when she won Best Supporting Actress for her embattled Netflix film Emilia Pérez.
Brody praised critics for making his ‘very small, epic film very visible and accessible to people.’
Saldaña’s win was particularly surprising as it comes after the discovery of racist and Islamophobic tweets from Emilia Pérez star Karla Sofía Gascón threatened to derail the film’s awards hopes.
Jon M. Chu also won Best Director for Wicked, which significantly increased his odds of winning at the Academy Awards.
Saldaña, 46, was in tears as she delivered a moving speech.
She shared thanks for French director Jacques Audiard and the ‘cast and grew’ generally, without breathing Gascón’s name.
Zoe jokingly referenced criticism she has received in the past, including that she is in ‘too many franchises,’ and that the Avatar and Guardians Of The Galaxy star is ‘too blue.’
‘Whenever you receive a negative criticism for a role or a film, everyone says, don’t read the reviews,’ she continued. ‘Then when you get the positive feedback, everyone says, did you read the reviews?’
The show got off to a strong start when Conclave earned the first award of the evening for Best Ensemble.
Critics Choice Awards 2025 winners
BEST PICTURE
A Complete Unknown
Anora — WINNER
The Brutalist
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Emilia Pérez
Nickel Boys
Sing Sing
The Substance
Wicked
Wicked leads the way with 11 nominations
BEST ACTOR
Adrien Brody – The Brutalist — WINNER
Timothée Chalamet – A Complete Unknown
Daniel Craig – Queer
Colman Domingo – Sing Sing
Ralph Fiennes – Conclave
Hugh Grant – Heretic
Ralph Fiennes is nominated in the Best Actor category for his work in Conclave, which also earned 11 nods
BEST ACTRESS
Cynthia Erivo – Wicked
Karla Sofía Gascón – Emilia Pérez
Marianne Jean-Baptiste – Hard Truths
Angelina Jolie – Maria
Mikey Madison – Anora
Demi Moore – The Substance — WINNER
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Yura Borisov – Anora
Kieran Culkin – A Real Pain — WINNER
Clarence Maclin – Sing Sing
Edward Norton – A Complete Unknown
Guy Pearce – The Brutalist
Denzel Washington – Gladiator II
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Danielle Deadwyler – The Piano Lesson
Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor – Nickel Boys
Ariana Grande – Wicked
Margaret Qualley – The Substance
Isabella Rossellini – Conclave
Zoe Saldaña – Emilia Pérez — WINNER
Ariana Grande earned a Best Supporting Actress nod for her role as Glinda in Wicked
BEST YOUNG ACTOR / ACTRESS
Alyla Browne – Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Elliott Heffernan – Blitz
Maisy Stella – My Old Ass
Izaac Wang – Didi
Alisha Weir – Abigail
Zoe Ziegler – Janet Planet
BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE
Anora
Conclave — WINNER
Emilia Pérez
Saturday Night
Sing Sing
Wicked
BEST DIRECTOR
Jacques Audiard – Emilia Pérez
Sean Baker – Anora
Edward Berger – Conclave
Brady Corbet – The Brutalist
Jon M. Chu – Wicked — WINNER
Coralie Fargeat – The Substance
RaMell Ross – Nickel Boys
Denis Villeneuve – Dune: Part Two
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Sean Baker – Anora
Moritz Binder, Tim Fehlbaum, Alex David – September 5
Brady Corbet, Mona Fastvold – The Brutalist
Jesse Eisenberg – A Real Pain
Coralie Fargeat – The Substance — WINNER
Justin Kuritzkes – Challengers
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Jacques Audiard – Emilia Pérez
Winnie Holzman, Dana Fox – Wicked
Greg Kwedar, Clint Bentley – Sing Sing
RaMell Ross & Joslyn Barnes – Nickel Boys
Peter Straughan – Conclave — WINNER
Denis Villeneuve, Jon Spaihts – Dune: Part Two
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Jarin Blaschke – Nosferatu
Alice Brooks – Wicked
Lol Crawley – The Brutalist
Stéphane Fontaine – Conclave
Greig Fraser – Dune: Part Two
Jomo Fray – Nickel Boys
Dune: Part Two earned 10 nominations, including a Best Cinematography nod for Greig Fraser
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Judy Becker, Patricia Cuccia – The Brutalist
Nathan Crowley, Lee Sandales – Wicked — WINNER
Suzie Davies – Conclave
Craig Lathrop – Nosferatu
Arthur Max, Jille Azis, Elli Griff – Gladiator II
Patrice Vermette, Shane Vieau – Dune: Part Two
BEST EDITING
Sean Baker – Anora
Marco Costa – Challengers
Nick Emerson – Conclave
David Jancso – The Brutalist
Joe Walker – Dune: Part Two
Hansjörg Weißbrich – September 5
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Lisy Christl – Conclave
Linda Muir – Nosferatu
Massimo Cantini Parrini – Maria
Paul Tazewell – Wicked — WINNER
Jacqueline West – Dune: Part Two
Janty Yates, Dave Crossman – Gladiator II
BEST HAIR AND MAKEUP
Christine Blundell, Lesa Warrener, Neal Scanlan – Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
Hair and Makeup Team – Dune: Part Two
Hair and Makeup Team – The Substance — WINNER
Frances Hannon, Sarah Nuth, Laura Blount – Wicked
Traci Loader, Suzanne Stokes-Munton, David White – Nosferatu
Mike Marino, Sarah Graalman, Aaron Saucier – A Different Man
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Mark Bakowski, Pietro Ponti, Nikki Penny, Neil Corbould – Gladiator II
Pablo Helman, Jonathan Fawkner, Paul Corbould, David Shirk – Wicked
Paul Lambert, Stephen James, Rhys Salcombe, Gerd Nefzer – Dune: Part Two — WINNER
Luke Millar, David Clayton, Keith Herft, Peter Stubbs – Better Man
Visual Effects Team – The Substance
Erik Winquist, Stephen Unterfranz, Paul Story, Rodney Burke – Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Flow
Inside Out 2
Memoir of a Snail
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
The Wild Robot — WINNER
BEST COMEDY
A Real Pain
Deadpool & Wolverine
Hit Man
My Old Ass
Saturday Night
Thelma
Deadpool & Wolverine earned a Best Comedy nod
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
All We Imagine as Light
Emilia Pérez — WINNER
Flow
I’m Still Here
Kneecap
The Seed of the Sacred Fig
BEST SONG
“Beautiful That Way” – The Last Showgirl – Miley Cyrus
“Compress / Repress” – Challengers – Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross
“El Mal” – Emilia Pérez – Zoe Saldaña, Karla Sofía Gascón, Camille — WINNER
“Harper and Will Go West” – Will & Harper – Kristen Wiig
“Kiss the Sky” – The Wild Robot – Maren Morris
“Mi Camino” – Emilia Pérez – Selena Gomez
Selena Gomez earned a nod in the Best Song category for Mi Camino from Emilia Pérez
BEST SCORE
Volker Bertelmann – Conclave
Daniel Blumberg – The Brutalist
Kris Bowers – The Wild Robot
Clément Ducol & Camille – Emilia Pérez
Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross – Challengers — WINNER
Hans Zimmer – Dune: Part Two
BEST DRAMA SERIES
The Day of the Jackal (Peacock)
The Diplomat (Netflix)
Evil (Paramount+)
Industry (HBO | Max)
Interview with the Vampire (AMC)
The Old Man (FX)
Shōgun (FX / Hulu) — WINNER
Slow Horses (Apple TV+)
FX series Shōgun leads the way with six nominations, including top honor Best Drama Series
BEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Jeff Bridges – The Old Man (FX)
Ncuti Gatwa – Doctor Who (Disney+)
Eddie Redmayne – The Day of the Jackal (Peacock)
Hiroyuki Sanada – Shōgun (FX / Hulu) — WINNER
Rufus Sewell – The Diplomat (Netflix)
Antony Starr – The Boys (Prime Video)
BEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Caitriona Balfe – Outlander (Starz)
Kathy Bates – Matlock (CBS) — WINNER
Shanola Hampton – Found (NBC)
Keira Knightley – Black Doves (Netflix)
Keri Russell – The Diplomat (Netflix)
Anna Sawai – Shōgun (FX / Hulu)
Anna Sawai was recognized in the Best Actress in a Drama Series category for her work in Shogun
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Tadanobu Asano – Shōgun (FX / Hulu) — WINNER
Michael Emerson – Evil (Paramount+)
Mark-Paul Gosselaar – Found (NBC)
Takehiro Hira – Shōgun (FX / Hulu)
John Lithgow – The Old Man (FX)
Sam Reid – Interview with the Vampire (AMC)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Moeka Hoshi – Shōgun (FX / Hulu) — WINNER
Allison Janney – The Diplomat (Netflix)
Nicole Kidman – Special Ops: Lioness (Paramount+)
Skye P. Marshall – Matlock (CBS)
Anna Sawai – Pachinko (Apple TV+)
Fiona Shaw – Bad Sisters (Apple TV+)
BEST COMEDY SERIES
Abbott Elementary (ABC)
English Teacher (FX)
Hacks (HBO | Max) — WINNER
Nobody Wants This (Netflix)
Only Murders in the Building (Hulu)
Somebody Somewhere (HBO | Max)
St. Denis Medical (NBC)
What We Do in the Shadows (FX)
Abbott Elementary is nominated for Best Comedy Series
BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Brian Jordan Alvarez – English Teacher (FX)
Adam Brody – Nobody Wants This (Netflix) — WINNER
David Alan Grier – St. Denis Medical (NBC)
Steve Martin – Only Murders in the Building (Hulu)
Kayvan Novak – What We Do in the Shadows (FX)
Martin Short – Only Murders in the Building (Hulu)
BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Kristen Bell – Nobody Wants This (Netflix)
Quinta Brunson – Abbott Elementary (ABC)
Natasia Demetriou – What We Do in the Shadows (FX)
Bridget Everett – Somebody Somewhere (HBO | Max)
Jean Smart – Hacks (HBO | Max) — WINNER
Kristen Wiig – Palm Royale (Apple TV+)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Paul W. Downs – Hacks (HBO | Max)
Asher Grodman – Ghosts (CBS)
Harvey Guillén – What We Do in the Shadows (FX)
Brandon Scott Jones – Ghosts (CBS)
Michael Urie – Shrinking (Apple TV+) — WINNER
Tyler James Williams – Abbott Elementary (ABC)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Liza Colón-Zayas – The Bear (FX / Hulu)
Hannah Einbinder – Hacks (HBO | Max) — WINNER
Janelle James – Abbott Elementary (ABC)
Stephanie Koenig – English Teacher (FX)
Patti LuPone – Agatha All Along (Disney+)
Annie Potts – Young Sheldon (CBS)
BEST LIMITED SERIES
Baby Reindeer (Netflix) — WINNER
Disclaimer (Apple TV+)
Masters of the Air (Apple TV+)
Mr Bates vs the Post Office (PBS)
The Penguin (HBO | Max)
Ripley (Netflix)
True Detective: Night Country (HBO | Max)
We Were the Lucky Ones (Hulu)
Baby Reindeer is up for Best Limited Series
BEST MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION
The Great Lillian Hall (HBO | Max)
It’s What’s Inside (Netflix)
Música (Prime Video)
Out of My Mind (Disney+)
Rebel Ridge (Netflix) — WINNER
V/H/S/Beyond (Shudder)
BEST ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Colin Farrell – The Penguin (HBO | Max) — WINNER
Richard Gadd – Baby Reindeer (Netflix)
Tom Hollander – FEUD: Capote vs. The Swans (FX)
Kevin Kline – Disclaimer (Apple TV+)
Ewan McGregor – A Gentleman in Moscow (Paramount+)
Andrew Scott – Ripley (Netflix)
BEST ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Cate Blanchett – Disclaimer (Apple TV+)
Jodie Foster – True Detective: Night Country (HBO | Max)
Jessica Lange – The Great Lillian Hall (HBO | Max)
Cristin Milioti – The Penguin (HBO | Max) — WINNER
Phoebe-Rae Taylor – Out of My Mind (Disney+)
Naomi Watts – FEUD: Capote vs. The Swans (FX)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Robert Downey Jr. – The Sympathizer (HBO | Max)
Hugh Grant – The Regime (HBO | Max)
Ron Cephas Jones – Genius: MLK/X (National Geographic)
Logan Lerman – We Were the Lucky Ones (Hulu)
Liev Schreiber – The Perfect Couple (Netflix) — WINNER
Treat Williams – FEUD: Capote vs. The Swans (FX)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Dakota Fanning – Ripley (Netflix)
Leila George – Disclaimer (Apple TV+)
Betty Gilpin – Three Women (Starz)
Jessica Gunning – Baby Reindeer (Netflix) — WINNER
Deirdre O’Connell – The Penguin (HBO | Max)
Kali Reis – True Detective: Night Country (HBO | Max)
Jessica Gunning is up for Best Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie Made for Television for Baby Reindeer
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE SERIES
Acapulco (Apple TV+)
Citadel: Honey Bunny (Prime Video)
La Máquina (Hulu)
The Law According to Lidia Poët (Netflix)
My Brilliant Friend (HBO | Max)
Pachinko (Apple TV+)
Senna (Netflix)
Squid Game (Netflix) — WINNER
BEST ANIMATED SERIES
Batman: Caped Crusader (Prime Video)
Bluey (Disney+)
Bob’s Burgers (Fox)
Invincible (Prime Video)
The Simpsons (Fox)
X-Men ’97 (Disney+) — WINNER
BEST TALK SHOW
Hot Ones (YouTube)
The Daily Show (Comedy Central)
The Graham Norton Show (BBC America)
John Mulaney Presents: Everybody’s in L.A. (Netflix) — WINNER
The Kelly Clarkson Show (NBC/Syndicated)
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (CBS)
BEST COMEDY SPECIAL
Ali Wong: Single Lady (Netflix) — WINNER
Jim Gaffigan: The Skinny (Hulu)
Kevin James: Irregardless (Prime Video)
Nikki Glaser: Someday You’ll Die (HBO | Max)
Rachel Bloom: Death, Let Me Do My Special (Netflix)
Ramy Youssef: More Feelings (HBO | Max)
