Critics Choice Awards 2023 LIVE — Brendan Fraser breaks down in tears as fans say Michelle Yeoh was ‘robbed’
THE 28th annual Critics Choice Awards brought a few surprises to awards season - and some fans aren't pleased.
Former golden boy Brendan Fraser cemented his comeback by winning Best Actor for his performance in The Whale.
The actor came to the stage sobbing and through his tears, gave an emotional acceptance speech where he encouraged viewers by saying: "I want you to know that if you, too, can have the strength to just get to your feet and go to the light, good things will happen."
Meanwhile, fans were furious when Tár actress Cate Blanchett won the award for Best Actress over Michelle Yeoh for her performance in Best Picture winner Everything Everywhere All At Once.
Viewers took to Twitter to say that Yeoh was "," with one : "MICHELLE YEOH WAS ROBBED AND EVERYONE KNOWS IT."
Read our 2023 Critics Choice Awards live blog for the latest updates...
Best Picture nominees reached an ‘exact tie’
There were 11 Best Picture nominees this year due to an “exact tie,” according to the Critics Choice Association.
Everything Everywhere All at Once beat out the other 10 contenders, which included:
- Avatar: The Way of Water
- Babylon
- The Banshees of Inisherin
- Elvis
- The Fabelmans
- Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
- RRR
- Tár
- Top Gun: Maverick
- Women Talking
Some stars weren’t in attendance
After last week’s Golden Globes, a few celebrities tested positive for Covid-19 – meaning that there were some empty seats at Sunday’s ceremony.
Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson, stars of The Banshees of Inisherin, reportedly tested positive after the awards show.
Actress Jamie Lee Curtis, who was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Everything Everywhere All At Once, was also not in attendance last night after testing positive.
Niecy Nash responds to Netflix show haters after win
As critics slam Netflix’s Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, Niecy Nash addressed the response to the controversial show after winning an award for her performance on the show.
After accepting the award for Best Supporting Actress in a Limited Series at the Critics Choice Awards on Sunday, the actress said backstage that she can “understand” the outrage from victims’ families.
“Everybody has a perspective,” the actress said.
“Even in anything you do in life, nobody is going to agree with everything you do.
“Believe it or not, there’s some people in the world who don’t even like me. I know. Don’t y’all find it hard to believe?”
The actress concluded: “You know, everybody is not always going to lean in, but you do your best effort in storytelling to put something in the world that, like I say, shines light on faces that may have been in the shadows this whole time.”
Sheryl Lee Ralph’s daughter watched from home
Ivy-Victoria Maurice, daughter of Abbott Elementary actress Sheryl Lee Ralph, posted a video to Twitter of her jumping up and down and cheering for her mom as she won the Critics Choice Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.
“CONGRATULATIONS MOMMY,” the 28-year-old on Twitter.
“YOU DID IT! AGAINNNNN!”
Elle Fanning wore Alexander McQueen on red carpet
Elle Fanning arrived on the red carpet wearing a colored Alexander McQueen gown to the award ceremony on Sunday, January 15.
“I’ve worked with Elle for over 10 years, and we always look for something authentically ‘Elle’,’’ stylist Samantha McMillen told . Samantha also dished that she and Elle loved the dress from the Spring 2023 collection.
Elle presented the award for Best Actress in a Drama Series alongside Daisy Edgar-Jones. Elle also starred in The Girl in Plainville which was nominated for Best Limited Series.
Lily James and Anya Taylor-Joy arrived in sheer attire
Anya Taylor-Joy and Lily James show off their sheer dresses as they posed for pictures on the red carpet.
Lily wore a designed by Oscar de la Renta, reported. The outfit also featured a giant bow in the front.
Lily was nominated for her role as Pamela Anderson in Hulu's Pam and Tommy.
Anya wore a Dior Haute Couture . reported that she wore over 20 carats and diamonds.
Anya was at the award show to present alongside Top Gun star Miles Teller.
Cate Blanchett kindly embraced Michelle Yeoh
Cate Blanchett embraced Everything Everywhere All At Once star Michelle Yeoh during the Critics' Choice Awards on Sunday, January 15.
The two actresses were nominated in the Best Actress category — with Cate winning the award for her role in Tár.
with open arms as they began a conversation.
Fans took to social media to say that Michelle was "" of the award for her role in Everything Everywhere All At Once also nominated for Best Picture.
The Crown stars Claire Foy and Matt Smith reunite
The Crown stars Claire Foy and Matt Smith reunited at the Critics' Choice Awards.
Claire portrayed a young Queen Elizabeth II alongside Matt, who played Prince Phillip. The duo played the characters for two seasons.
The two actors were pictured together at the award show. Matt was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Daemon in the HBO series House of the Dragon.
Claire was not nominated but her new movie, Women Talking, was nominated for many awards including Best Picture.
The Crown stars Claire Foy and Matt Smith reunite at the 2023 Critics' Choice AwardsCredit: Getty Kerry Washington joked about House of the Dragon
Kerry Washington cracked a joke about a relationship between two characters who are related in the HBO series House of the Dragon.
While presenting an award at the Critics' Choice Awards on Sunday, January 15, Kerry discussed some phrases that people might have said during different TV shows and movies.
"She did that with her uncle?" at a phrase that could have been said during the drama series.
In the series, Rhaenyra Targaryen (Milly Alcock and Emma D'Arcy) married her uncle, Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith).
As Kerry said the phrase, the camera turned to Milly and Matt. Milly began to laugh while Matt smiled.
'Stop the televised horserace'
Two-time Oscar winner Cate Blanchett took up the best actress prize at the 28th annual Critics' Choice Awards on Sunday for her work in Tár.
She joked at the start of her remarks: "I've got gum in my mouth. I really didn't expect to be standing here.
"This is actually the second award of the evening: Julia Roberts, earlier, presented me with a bottle of mouthwash. So thank you, Julia. This is a poor second."
Cate also said that awards season should get a change sometime soon. "I would love it if we would just change this whole f---ing structure. It's like what is this patriarchal pyramid where someone stands up here. Why don't we just say there was a whole raft of female performances that are in concert and in dialogue with one another?"
Pachinko won Best Foreign Language Series
Pachinko on Apple TV+ won the Critics Choice for Best Foreign Language Series.
The show beat out the following series:
- 1899
- Borgen
- Extraordinary Attorney Woo
- Garcia!
- The Kingdom Exodus
- Kleo
- My Brilliant Friend
- Tehran
A-list presenters took the stage
Many celebrities took to the stage Sunday night to present other artists with Critic Choice Awards, including:
- Benjamin Bratt
- Quinta Brunson
- Cedric the Entertainer
- Misha Collins
- Claire Danes
- Phoebe Dynevor
- Ayo Edebiri
- Eve Hewson
- Jude Hill
- Tyler Hoechlin
- Sharon Horgan
- Sarah Hyland
- Troy Kotsur
- Diego Luna
- Natasha Lyonne
- Ebon Moss-Bachrach
- Aubrey Plaza
- Jean Smart
- Anya Taylor-Joy
- Miles Teller
- Kerry Washington
- Jeremy Allen White
Henry Winkler praises Anya Taylor-Joy
On the red carpet of the Critics' Choice Awards, Henry Winkler praises Anya Taylor-Joy.
While doing an interview with , Henry Winkler stops to speak with Anya, saying how "wonderful" she is and "what a pleasure" it was to see her.
He also commented that she had "pure talent" and joked that he couldn't play chess, referencing Anya's role in The Queen's Gambit.
Anya's jaw dropped, as she was left stunned by the conversation.
Andrew Garfield shows support for Zendaya
Andrew Garfield cheers on Critics' Choice Award winner Zendaya as she took home the Best Actress In a Drama Series.
Zendaya was given the award for her role as Rue in the HBO series Euphoria.
When it was announced that the actress won, one of the cameras went to Andrew. The actor "Well done, Zendaya" and clapped with the rest of the audience.
Chelsea Handler's jab at James Corden
During her opening monologue at the Critics' Choice Awards 2023, which were held at the Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles over the weekend, Chelsea Handler jibbed at James Corden.
Chelsea took a jab at James in the monologue after a restaurant owner called him out for being unkind to staff members the previous year.
“Look, the cast of The Bear is here. Awesome show. They showed us how grueling and hellish and absolutely miserable working in the restaurant industry can be, and they didn't even have to wait on James Corden,” she said.
Christina Applegate's daughter wore Scott Weiland's suit
Sadie Grace LeNoble, Christina Applegate's daughter, lived the life of a true rock star at Sunday night's Critics Choice Awards.
The Dead to Me actress on Monday that her 11-year-old wore a special inherited ensemble to the award show.
Christina wrote: "Just a fun fact, the suit my kid is wearing was Scott Weiland's suit from one of his solo album covers. Scott gave my husband, Martyn, that suit long ago in the glorious 90s."
Chelsea Handler supports Critics' Choice nominees on social media
Chelsea Handler takes to social media to hype up attendees and nominees at this year's Critics' Choice Awards.
The comedian hosted the award show that took place on Sunday, January 15th.
"Beautiful, baby," Chelsea commented on Quinta Brunson's , flaunting her award show attire.
Chelsea commented on Julia Garner's Critics' Choice , "You're da bestest."
"Yeah, baby! You’re having the time of your life, in every way," Chelsea exclaimed, commenting on a Niecy Nash-Betts of her accepting her Critics' Choice Award for Supporting Actress In a Limited Series.
Julia Garner congratulates Critics' Choice winners
Julia Garner took to social media to congratulate all the winners that took home awards at the 2023 Critics' Choice Awards.
Julia was up for two awards including Best Supporting Actress In a Drama Series for her role in Ozark.
She was also nominated in the Best Actress In a Limited Series or Movie Made For Television category for portraying Anna Delvey in Inventing Anna.
The actress, unfortunately, did not win any awards but showed her support to the winners in .
"CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL THE WINNERS! It was such an honor to be nominated with such stellar women," she wrote.
Ke Huy Quan ran to congratulate Brendan Fraser on big win
In the winner's lounge, Ke Huy Quan ran to Brendan Fraser to congratulate him on his big win at the Critics' Choice Awards on Sunday, January 15th.
Brendan took home the Best Actor award for his role in The Whale and Ke Huy won the Best Supporting Actor in Everything Everywhere All at Once.
The actors were seen in embracing each other.
"There is SO much love for #BrendanFraser in the house tonight," the official Critics' Choice Twitter account wrote.
Anya Taylor-Joy applauds designers and Critics' Choice Association
Anya Taylor-Joy thanked the designers of her outfit and the Critics' Choice Association for choosing her to present at the award show on Sunday, January 15th.
The Menu actress and Top Gun star Miles Teller presented the award for best actress in a limited series — which was given to Amanda Seyfried for her role in The Dropout.
Flaunting on the red carpet with boyfriend, Malcolm McRae, Anya stunned in a Dior Haute Couture sheer nude dress along with Jimmy Choo heels and Tiffany & Co jewelry, reported.
"Thank you @criticschoice for having us present :)," she wrote in an . She also wrote that she "felt very special" in her award show attire.
Brendan Fraser’s past, continued
The actor revealed he had lasting injuries sustained while performing stunts in various films.
“By the time I did the third Mummy picture in China [in 2008], I was put together with tape and ice—just, like, really nerdy and fetishy about ice packs.
“Screw-cap ice packs and downhill-mountain-biking pads, ’cause they’re small and light and they can fit under your clothes. I was building an exoskeleton for myself daily,” he explained.
Brendan’s injuries led to many surgeries over the years, which included a partial knee replacement and a procedure to repair his vocal cords.
Another reason for him taking time off from the movies was a messy divorce in 2009 and his mother’s death in 2016.
Here’s what happened to Brendan Fraser
You’d be hard-pressed to find a film from the 90s and early 2000s that DIDN’T star Brendan Fraser in the leading role.
However, in 2003, the actor said he was taking a brief hiatus from Hollywood.
But this “short break” would see Brendan disappear from Tinsletown, with the actor’s fans wondering what happened to him.
In 2018, he spoke with and revealed that he slowed down, and turned down later reboot offers for The Mummy and Journey to the Center of the Earth, due to his declining health.
Best Picture nominees reached an ‘exact tie’
There were 11 Best Picture nominees this year due to an “exact tie,” according to the Critics Choice Association.
Everything Everywhere All at Once beat out the other 10 contenders, which included:
- Avatar: The Way of Water
- Babylon
- The Banshees of Inisherin
- Elvis
- The Fabelmans
- Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
- RRR
- Tár
- Top Gun: Maverick
- Women Talking
Some stars weren’t in attendance
After last week’s Golden Globes, a few celebrities tested positive for Covid-19 – meaning that there were some empty seats at Sunday’s ceremony.
Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson, stars of The Banshees of Inisherin, reportedly tested positive after the awards show.
Actress Jamie Lee Curtis, who was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Everything Everywhere All At Once, was also not in attendance last night after testing positive.
Niecy Nash responds to Netflix show haters after win
As critics slam Netflix’s Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, Niecy Nash addressed the response to the controversial show after winning an award for her performance on the show.
After accepting the award for Best Supporting Actress in a Limited Series at the Critics Choice Awards on Sunday, the actress said backstage that she can “understand” the outrage from victims’ families.
“Everybody has a perspective,” the actress said.
“Even in anything you do in life, nobody is going to agree with everything you do.
“Believe it or not, there’s some people in the world who don’t even like me. I know. Don’t y’all find it hard to believe?”
The actress concluded: “You know, everybody is not always going to lean in, but you do your best effort in storytelling to put something in the world that, like I say, shines light on faces that may have been in the shadows this whole time.”