Of course Chelsea Handler went there during the 2026 Critics Choice Awards. (She also went there, there and there.) But are you surprised?
Hosting the event for the fourth straight year, the comedian had an embarrassment of riches to work with as she kicked off awards season Jan. 4 at The Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, Calif. (See all the stars from the Critics Choice Awards red carpet.)
Chelsea started off with a little low-hanging fruit, cracking that, while Timothée Chalamet—a Best Actor nominee for his balls-to-the-wall performance as a roguish table tennis whiz in Marty Supreme—trained for seven years and Sinners star Miles Caton (an early winner for Best Young Actor) learned how to play blues guitar, Sean Penn took Cialis to rise to the occasion in One Battle After Another.
She then proceeded to invite Penn's OBAA costar Benicio del Toro up to her hotel room.
"Stop being so selective about what you do," Handler encouraged the Best Supporting Actor nominee, who was seated next to the film's there-in-the-nick-of-time Best Actor lead, Leonardo DiCaprio. "I need you in more movies, in more TV shows, in room 708 at the Andaz Hotel tonight."
The OBAA ribaldry continued, Handler complimenting Best Supporting Actress nominee Teyana Taylor—"I hate to rip off other people's writing, but I have to say this p--sy absolutely pops for you"—and announced that DiCaprio almost didn't make it because he was "trapped on a boat in St. Barts."
"It was just like the Titanic, but worse," she quipped, "because Jeff Bezos was there." (DiCaprio and girlfriend Vittoria Ceretti were on a yacht with Bezos and his wife Lauren Sánchez, whose summer nuptials the actor attended, and was late getting back to California.)
Sinners led the field heading into the night with 17 nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay for Ryan Coogler, Best Actor (Michael B. Jordan) and Best Supporting Actress (Wunmi Mosaku), so of course it was in for a gentle ribbing. (Less gentle: Suggesting that the "original name of the main vampire" was David Zaslav, of Warner Bros. Discovery CEO fame.)
Handler noted that blues music was "used to fight vampires," while K-pop was used to fight demons.
And, speaking of which, "the cast of KPop Demon Hunters is here," Handler noted. She quickly added, invoking the hot-button docuseries of the year Sean Combs: The Reckoning, which happened to be produced by her one of her exes, "Not to be confused with Netflix's other music movie, '50 Cent: Diddy Hunter.'"
Not going unscathed, either, were Marty Supreme actress Gwyneth Paltrow—not in the room because "she's skiing, so look out"—Hamnet's Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal ("Was she more upset over the death of her son or that she married a man with a hoop earring?") and If I Had Legs I'd Kick You star Rose Byrne.
"I love everything you do," Handler told the Australian Best Actress nominee. "Comedy, drama, Bobby Cannavale."
Handler also shouted out Rhea Seehorn's performance in Pluribus, which is about "people sharing collective consciousness" after being transformed into a peaceful hive mind. Hence the comedian's request that series creator Vince Gilligan give her the number for his "mushroom dealer."
And before closing her monologue with heartfelt words about Rob Reiner and what he and wife Michelle Reiner stood for, Handler congratulated Best Actor in a Drama Series nominee Noah Wyle on the success of The Pitt, quipping, "Everyone loves your show, Noah. Congrats on getting rid of George Clooney, he was clearly holding you back."
On the TV side, HBO's The Pitt can add to its accreditation with nods for Best Drama Series, Best Actor for Wyle, Best Supporting Actress for Katherine LaNasa and Best Supporting Actor for Patrick Ball. Fellow top Emmy winner Hacks is represented in the Best Comedy Series category, along with its acting noms for Jean Smart, Paul W. Downs and Hannah Einbinder.
See what all the nominees—plus every other star in attendance—wore on the red carpet at the Critics Choice Awards 2026:
Teyana Taylor
in Saint Laurent and Tiffany & Co. jewelry.
Jessica Biel
in Lanvin.
Ariana Grande
in custom Alberta Ferretti, Christian Louboutin and Swarovski jewelry.
Paul Mescal
in custom Gucci and Cartier.
Jacob Elordi
in Bottega Veneta, Oliver Peoples and Cartier.
Michael B. Jordan
in custom Louis Vuitton and Christian Louboutin.
Leighton Meester & Adam Brody
in Carolina Herrera and Chopard jewelry (Meester); Valentino and Jager Le Coultre wath (Brody).
Alexander Skarsgard
in Valentino.
Adam Scott & Naomi Scott
in Dolce & Gabbana.
Marcello Hernandez
in Dolce & Gabbana.
Mckenna Grace
in vintage Vera Wang and Chopard diamonds.
Krys Marshall
in Sehnsucht Atelier.
Rhea Seehorn
in custom Louis Vuitton and Brilliant Earth jewelry.
Nicole Brydon Bloom
in Akris.
Sara Wells & Noah Wyle
in Brioni (Wyle).
Adam Sandler & Jackie Sandler
Leo Woodall
in Paul Smith.
Ryan Coogler & Zinzi Coogler
in custom Louis Vuitton.
Katherine LaNasa & Grant Show
in custom Louis Vuitton and Messika jewelry (LaNasa).
Seth Rogen
in Zegna.
Sarah Shahi
in Georges Hobeika.
Ginnifer Goodwin & Josh Dallas
in Giorgio Armani and a Tyler Ellis bag(Goodwin).
Ike Barinholtz
in Dior.
Jimmy Kimmel & Molly McNearney
in Alex Perry, Tyler Ellis purse and Manolo Blahnik shoes (McNearney).
Sterling K. Brown
in Brunello Cucinelli, Jacques Marie Mage glasses, Omega watch, Rachel Katz Jewelry cufflinks, Effy Jewelry rings and Melinda Maria earrings.
Sarah Snook
in Akris and Chopard.
Tramell Tillman
in Anamika Khanna and Lagos Diamonds jewelry.
Natasha Lyonne
in Celine and Le Vian and L'Dezen jewelry.
Chase Infiniti
in custom Louis Vuitton and Messika jewelry.
Owen Cooper
in Bottega Veneta.
(E! and USA Network are both part of the NBCUniversal family).