10 Viral Moments From the Critics Choice Awards 2026: From Rob Reiner Tribute to Baby Bumps and More

Before the 2026 Critics Choice Awards officially started, Megan Stalter and Paul W. Downs already made headlines for cosplaying Kylie Jenner and Timothée Chalamet.

The pair hit the red carpet on January 4 in identical replicas of the custom Chrome Hearts looks Chalamet and Jenner wore at the Los Angeles premiere of Marty Supreme in December. The Hacks costars' ensembles were designed by Los Angeles-based designer Erica D. Schwartz.

The Wicked fever was not over as Ariana Grande made an appearance at the 2026 Critics Choice Awards in a pink and white ensemble. The Wicked: For Good actress also debuted her brunette hair after ditching her signature Glinda blonde.

While at the awards show, she gave an update regarding her Eternal Sunshine Tour, which is set to launch in June.

"I've been working on the set list for months now," she told Live From E!. "It's in a good place, but we'll never know until we get into the rehearsals — which are starting very soon — and we put things on their feet if it'll make sense or not."

Justin Theroux's wife, Nicole Brydon Bloom, and actress Krys Marshall both graced the red carpet of the 2026 Critics Choice Awards while showing off their growing baby bumps.

Bloom, who wed Theroux in March 2025, arrived in a bump-hugging champagne-colored dress with sparkly sequins. She accessorized it with silver earrings and rings.

Meanwhile, the Paradise star cradled her growing belly in an embellished champagne turtleneck dress. She also wore pointed-toe heels to complete the look.

While at Santa Monica Airport's Barker Hangar for the event, Marcello Hernández took his time to reveal his future on Saturday Night Live following Bowen Yang's departure in December 2025.

"I'm there, I'm there, I'm there," he clarified. "I'm having fun, bro. It's a crazy job and you get to meet so many crazy people — and I love it."

In her first Critics Choice Awards appearance in eight years, Jessica Biel turned heads in a black and gold see-through gown from Lanvin's 2025 Fall/Winter collection, which featured a halter neck and an open-back design.

Her gold earrings complemented her dress' gold sequins and mesh, amping up her glamorous look.

Jimmy Kimmel did not mince words when he roasted Donald Trump in his acceptance speech after winning the Best Talk Show award.

"And most of all, I want to thank our president, Donald Jennifer Trump, without whom, we would be going home empty-handed tonight," he said. "So thank you, Mr. President, for all the many ridiculous things you do each and every day. It's been a banner couple of weeks, and we can't get wait to get back on the air tomorrow night to talk about them. Thank you, everyone."

After making history as the youngest-ever male Emmy winner, Owens Cooper did it again when he became the youngest male actor winner at the Critics Choice Awards. The Adolescence actor, 16, scored the Best Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie Made for Television for his performance in the Netflix series.

"What I'll just say about the relationship between critics and artists has obviously been sort of a love-hate thing over the years," Jean Smart, who won Best Actress in a Comedy Series, said.

"George Bernard Shaw said famously, 'A critic is a man who leaves no turn unstoned.' And Pauline Kael — of course, the fabulous, late Pauline Kael — was famous for her reviews, scathing and glowing, but I think people got more fun out of her scathing reviews," she continued. "She gave a particularly bad one to the great David Lean, who said after that, he would never make another movie — and he waited 14 years, he finally made another movie, and it was his last. And George Roy Hill, who received a similar treatment, from miss Kael, wrote her a personal letter that started out, 'You miserable b----.'"

Smart then hit back at her critics, cryptically adding, "But a very famous critic responded, and I think this is very important. He said, 'Ultimately, as critics, our responsibility is not to the emotional well-being of a specific artist, our responsibility is to the reader, the art form and our work. In so doing, I believe we pay the artist respect. Our honesty and standards are an argument that the art they make matters.' So I thank the Critics Association for your appreciation of our little show, Hacks."

During her Critics Choice Awards monologue, host Chelsea Handler paid tribute to late actor-director Rob Reiner after he and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, died on December 14, 2025.

"Anyone who ever spent time with Rob Reiner knows that the minute that you met him, he felt like an old friend," she said of Rob, who she called the "nicest guy in Hollywood."

Chelsea added, "When you were in a conversation with him, he was present, he was focused, he was funny, and he would ask you tons of questions, whether you were discussing politics or film or the latest beauty trends. He was all in. After I sent him a text thanking him for dinner a few months ago, he texted me back and said, 'We had so much fun with you last night. Thanks for explaining so much about plastic surgery. It was very edifying.'"

"Rob and Michele were tireless in their efforts to so many important causes, all stemming from one basic idea: decency. That we should all look out for each other. And I think we can all agree that we definitely need more of that," Chelsea reminded the attendees and viewers. "So, let's use tonight as a reminder of that decency, and as a reminder of everything Rob and Michele represented and fought so hard for."

Chelsea pulled no punches at Leonardo DiCaprio as the actor nearly missed the awards show due to the air restrictions following the recent U.S.–Venezuela conflict.

"Leo almost didn't make it tonight because he was trapped on a boat in St. Barts," she said. "It was just like the Titanic, but worse, because Jeff Bezos was there."