Most viral moments of the 2025 Emmy Awards revealed

The 77th Annual Emmy Awards provided a number of wins for television shows and its stars – while also giving viewers a variety of moments that have since gone viral. 

The ceremony on Sunday included special cast reunions at the Peacock Theater – such as Gilmore Girls as well as Everybody Loves Raymond. 

Comedian Nate Bargatze took on hosting duties for the first time, but was blasted on social media for his ‘cringe’ and ‘awful’ opening of the awards show. 

Shows such as Adolescence and The Studio both made history with record-breaking milestones during the evening. 

Presenter Jennifer Coolidge made a joke about Ozempic while Colin Farrell also went viral for his reaction to Reba McEntire amid a Golden Girls tribute. 

Stephen Colbert being honored with an Emmy win for The Late Show – despite the talk show’s cancellation in July – was yet another viral moment during the glitzy festivities. 

Host Nate Bargatze slammed by viewers 

Comedian Nate Bargatze took on hosting duties for the 2025 Emmy Awards – but got roasted by some viewers on social media. 

The star kicked off the show with a SNL-inspired skit rather than an opening monologue – which fans labeled as ‘boring.’ 

He later made a joke about keeping speeches to 45 seconds and pledged $100K to the Boys and Girls Club of America. 

However, if speeches went over, then money would be deducted – which was shown on a screen next to the stage. 

The Big Bang Theory producer Bill Prady – who notably co-created the sitcom and won five Emmys for the show – shared his thoughts on the Emmys opener in a post on X. 

‘The Boys and Girls Club bit on the #Emmys is just awful and uncomfortable and they should bail on it @TheEmmys,’ he penned. 

‘Showing a tote board ticking down while people thank the people who helped them is just cringe.’ 

Other viewers also slammed the donations bit, with another writing, ‘The whole “dwindling donation” thing for winner speeches going over is gross and stupid. I watch for the speeches, not this bulls***.’ 

‘I really like Nate Bargatze, but this Boys and Girls gimmick is stupid and you can see it’s annoying the winners,’ one added. 

Some were not impressed with the comedian as host, including the opening skit that centered around the invention of television. 

One shared on X, ‘nate bargatze is the worst emmys host ive ever had to watch and thats saying something considering jimmy kimmel has hosted 3 times.’ 

Colin Farrell’s reaction to Reba McEntire 

Colin Farrell’s reaction to a Golden Girls tribute was caught on camera as Reba McEntire, Karen Fairchild and Kimberly Schlapman belted out the famous theme song from the beloved series. 

The trio were seen singing the track on a kitchen set similar to the one used in the show – which had starred Betty White, Bea Arthur, Rue McClanahan and Estelle Getty. 

At one point, the camera panned over to Farrell who was swaying his head left to right while snapping his fingers to the tune. 

Social media users quickly flocked to social media to offer their thoughts over the humorous moment, with one penning on X: ‘colin farrell JAMMIN to the golden girls theme song.’ 

‘Colin Farrell bouncing along to the Golden Girls theme song.. that’s my king,’ a fan said, and another shared, ‘Colin Farrell bopping to the Golden Girls #Emmys.’ 

An X user added, ‘I didn’t know I needed to see Colin Farrell cheerfully snapping his fingers to The Golden Girls theme song but I sure am glad I did. #Emmys2025.’

Jennifer Coolidge Ozempic joke 

Jennifer Coolidge was one of the presenters during the big night and announced the winner for Lead Actress in a Comedy Series.

However beforehand, she had a bit of fun with her comedic skills in a lengthy bit – and even poked fun at Ozempic. 

She also joked about her past Emmy win for her performance on The White Lotus and joked that the cast ‘removed me from the group chat’ afterwards. 

The Legally Blonde actress then added, ‘We were all supposed to go on a trip to Ibiza.

‘I found out I wasn’t included, and the only reason I knew that was because Elizabeth Debicki and I have the same Ozempic dealer,’ Coolidge said, referencing to The Crown actress. 

‘Now that I think about it, winning the Emmy might have been the worst thing to ever happen to me.’ 

She immediately dove into announcing the next Emmy win, causing the audience to break out into laughter. 

John Oliver is bleeped TWICE during speech 

Comedian John Oliver was bleeped twice during his acceptance speech after winning for Outstanding Scripted Variety Series for Last Week Tonight with John Oliver on HBO.

The star kept his speech short at 15 seconds long, but a portion of it had been heavily censored live on TV. 

Oliver mentioned the Boys and Girls Club of America bit and said, ‘F*** you, Nate Bargatze, that is a lot of money to you! And you can add the f***s to the swear jar.’

While $1,000 was deducted for every second a star went over the 45 second mark, the same amount would be added back on to the donation if a star went under that time. 

The comedian raked in two awards for the evening and is no stranger to having some of his speech cut out. 

Last year during the 2024 Emmys, the star was in the midst of giving a shout out to his family when music began to play. And in response, Oliver jokingly yelled, ‘F*** you! There you go.’  

Jimmy Kimmel unimpressed at ‘woke’ Emmys gag

Jimmy Kimmel was left seemingly unimpressed when Breaking Bad alum Bryan Cranston jokingly referenced to President Donald Trump’s recent post about actor Tom Hanks. 

It came after West Point abruptly cancelled a ceremony set to honor Hanks with the prestigious Sylvanus Thayer Award. 

Trump applauded West Point on his Truth Social platform while also labeling the actor as a ‘destructive, woke award recipient’. 

Cranston referenced this as he presented the Emmy for Outstanding Talk Series on Sunday. 

‘From the learned and inspirational guests like Neil deGrasse Tyson to the destructive woke degenerates like Tom Hanks,’ he said, before the list of nominees in the category were revealed. 

The camera then showed Kimmel in the audience and while most of the crowd laughed, the talk show host appeared mostly stone-faced. 

Social media users shared their reactions on X, with one penning, ‘The number of people on this app who didn’t understand that Bryan Cranston sarcastically referring to Tom Hanks as a “woke degenerate” was an anti-Trump joke is a little disturbing….’ 

Another said, ‘Seriously, did Bryan Cranston really say that about Tom Hanks?’ and a fan added, ‘OMGGGG Did Bryan Cranston just refer to Tom Hanks as a “destructive woke degenerate?”‘ 

Stephen Colbert Emmy win and standing ovation 

Stephen Colbert scored a major milestone on Sunday when he won the Emmy for Outstanding Talk Series – despite The Late Show With Stephen Colbert being cancelled back in July by CBS. 

Upon receiving the honor, the comedian also received a standing ovation from the crowd. 

‘I want to thank CBS for giving us the privilege to be part of the late-night tradition, which I hope continues long after we are no longer doing this show,’ he said during his speech.

Colbert gave a special shout out to the crew involved on the series as well as his loved ones. 

In conclusion, he added, ‘I have never loved my country more desperately. God bless America. Stay strong, be brave, and if the elevator tries to bring you down, go crazy and punch a higher floor! Woo!’ 

Earlier in the evening, the TV personality made a plea to Hollywood to hire his staff after the show’s cancellation while presenting the award for Best Lead Actor in a Comedy Series.

Once the star was introduced, Colbert began to strut onto the stage inside the Peacock Theater and was met with loud cheers of applause from the audience as they rose to their feet. 

After expressing his gratitude for the warm reception, the talk show host then referenced to CBS canceling his show during a surprise monologue.

‘While I have your attention, is anyone hiring?’ he asked, followed by laughter. ‘Because I’ve got 200 very qualified candidates with me here tonight. Who will be available in June.’

The Late Show With Stephen Colbert will come to an end next year in May 2026.

Colbert then jokingly revealed that he also brought along his resume to the star-studded event with an old head shot of himself on the back.

‘I haven’t had a chance to update my head shot in a bit, but I think it still works,’ he said, showing a black and white throwback photo. ‘I am in there somewhere.’

The comedian then asked actor Harrison Ford – who was also in the crowd – to pass along his resume to filmmaker Stephen Spielberg.

Colbert quickly ran off the stage and onto the main floor of the theater to shake hands with the Indiana Jones star – who retrieved the resume.  

Adolescence making history 

Adolescence made history after raking in 13 Emmy nominations – and winning six on Sunday during the ceremony. 

The Netflix crime drama series starred Stephen Graham, Owen Cooper, Erin Doherty and Faye Marsay – while being directed by Philip Barantini. 

Cooper became the youngest actor to win an Emmy at the age of 15 for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie. 

The star portrayed the role of a teenager who had been accused of murdering a classmate. 

‘Honestly, when I started these drama classes a couple years back, I didn’t expect to be even in the United States, never mind here,’ he told the audience during his speech. 

‘But I think tonight proves that if you listen and you focus and step out of your comfort zone, you can achieve anything in life.’ 

The show also raked in Outstanding Director win for Barantini, Outstanding Lead Actor and Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series for both Graham and Cooper. 

Jack Thorne and Graham also won the award for Outstanding Writing. 

At the Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards earlier this month, the series raked in three additional wins: Outstanding Short Form Nonfiction or Reality Series, Outstanding Cinematography and Outstanding Casting. 

Seth Rogen’s The Studio breaking records 

The Studio – which was co-created by and starred Seth Rogan – also broke records at the 2025 Emmys. 

The series earned a total of 23 nominations, making it the most-nominated comedy debut in history.

The Studio won four on Sunday during the event, including Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for Rogan and Outstanding Comedy Series. 

Earlier this month, the show also won nine Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards.