Robby Hoffman has admitted she stormed out of the 2025 Creative Arts Emmys after losing to her Hacks co-star Julianne Nicholson, and her account of the evening is as entertaining as anything she did on screen.
The comedian and actress, who played Randi in the HBO Max series, told the full story on Tuesday’s episode of the Bald and the Beautiful podcast, hosted by Drag Race star Trixie Mattel.
Hoffman had been nominated for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series but lost to Nicholson, 54, who won for her performance as Mary “Dance Mom” Alice.
The problem was that Hoffman had walked in entirely convinced she was going home with the trophy.
“We’re beyond surprised to lose,” she admitted. “I walk in, I’m already like, ‘Where am I going to put the Emmy?'” It was the first award of the night, which made the defeat land all the harder.
“We lose immediately, my sister goes, ‘We don’t need this s–t,’ and pushes me out. She grabs me by the arm. ‘We’re leaving this s–t.'”
Mattel, who was also at the ceremony, found Hoffman backstage and let her process the result.
The reality star recalled her friend’s entrance with characteristic bluntness: “You entered the room like your whole family was murdered. You sat on the couch, and it felt like you were in shock that you were actually upset about not winning. You’d said to me, ‘I don’t think I cared and now I lost and I’m upset.'”
Leaving entirely, however, was not an option.
Hoffman had a contractual obligation to present an award, and her attempts to wriggle out of it were firmly rejected.
“I said, ‘Nah, I don’t want to do that anymore.’ They said, ‘No, it’s part of the program!'” she recalled.
“I was like, well, my circumstances changed. My circumstances have changed! I’m not in the mood, and they want me to read whatever’s on this teleprompter. I go, one thing I know, I’m not saying whatever the f–k they have me saying.”
Some champagne helped.
She eventually returned to the stage and presented the award for Outstanding Cinematography for a Series (Half-Hour) to The Studio.
Looking back, Hoffman was generous about the outcome.
She acknowledged that Nicholson was “beyond” deserving, calling her performance “amazing,” and noted that she was up against “insane” competition including Olivia Colman and Zoë Kravitz.
She also pointed out that already holding an Emmy, won in 2019 for her writing on the children’s series Odd Squad, made it easier to absorb the loss.
“We can’t say anything is rigged,” she said. “I like to defer blame for a long time before I go, ‘Rob, did someone do better than you?’ All fair.”
