The Best Memes & Viral Moments From The 2025 Emmy Awards

The Oscars of television are upon us — except as host Nate Bargatze joked in his opening skit, they’re not as prestigious. The 2025 Emmy Awards brought together the stars and masterminds behind the past year’s most acclaimed shows, resulting in laughs, jokes, and tears aplenty.

Severance led the nominations with an impressive 27 nods, followed by limited series The Penguin with 24 noms; The Studio and The White Lotus tied for third, earning 23 nods apiece.

Stephen Colbert Gets A Standing Ovation

Late Show host Stephen Colbert was the first presenter of the night and received a huge standing ovation from the audience, signaling Hollywood’s support after CBS canceled his long-standing late-night talk show.

Jennifer Coolidge’s Speech

After Bargatze gave his opening monologue, he was immediately outshone by none other than Jennifer Coolidge, who presented the award for Lead Actress in a Comedy Series. In her speech, she cast herself in The Pitt, joked about Ozempic, and noted the downsides of winning an Emmy, like getting left out of the group chat with her fellow nominees.

Once again, Coolidge proved why she should be a staple at every award show, and social media agreed.

The Boys & Girls Club Loses Money

Bargatze announced that he would be donating $100,000 to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America — but the total would go down $1,000 for each second that a winner went over their acceptance speech. While the first winner, Seth Rogen, actually kept his speech so brief that the number went up, it didn’t take long for the total to start plummeting.

When Hannah Einbinder won Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, the donation went down by an astounding $20,000 — though she promised to pay the difference. Needless to say, social media found this tactic both hilarious and concerning.

Britt Lower’s Acceptance Note

After winning the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for Severance, Britt Lower took out a note to read out her acceptance speech. Hilariously, the back of her paper read “Let Me Out,” a nod to the series that she won for.

Historic Emmy Winners

While some veterans returned to the podium, like Jean Smart winning her fourth consecutive Emmy, other actors made history with their inaugural Emmy wins.

Tramell Tillman became the first Black actor to win Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, taking home the award for his role in Severance. Meanwhile, Owen Cooper became the youngest male winner in Emmys history at just 15 years old, after winning Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for Adolescence.

Jake & Cate’s Anti-Photobomb Moment

As usual, some of the Emmys’ funniest moments didn’t happen onscreen. As seen in a viral clip shared by E!, Jake Gyllenhaal and Cate Blanchett attempted not to photobomb a picture of Only Murders in the Building stars Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez. Of course, the results were even more hilarious than a photobomb would’ve been.

More to come...