MTV Movie & TV Awards 2023 WINNERS: Jennifer Coolidge declares: ‘I stand side-by-side
Jennifer Coolidge showed her support for the Writers Guild of America Sunday amid the ongoing writers strike, while accepting the Comedic Genius award in a clip for the 2023 MTV Movie & TV Awards Sunday, while Drew Barrymore dropped out and was honored with an award, and The Last of Us came away with three large honors.
‘Almost all great comedy starts with great writers,’ The White Lotus star said in her speech. ‘I just think as a proud member of SAG, I stand here before you tonight side-by-side with my sisters and brothers from the WGA that are fighting right now, fighting for the rights of artists everywhere.
She added, ‘I think of the words of Shakespeare where he once said, you know, the play is the thing. Well, I don’t want to put words in his mouth or anything but I think what he really meant was it’s everything!’
Coolidge won a second award for Most Frightened Performance for The White Lotus at the event. She prevailed in the category against Cocaine Bear’s Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Barbarian’s Justin Long, Bodies Bodies Bodies star Rachel Sennott and Smile’s Sosie Bacon.
‘My gosh, popcorn,’ she said. ‘Thank you. Oh, my go. Most frightening death. Thank you. I hope this is the last time that I ever die on a show. I would like to stay alive.’
Solidarity: Jennifer Coolidge showed her support for the Writers Guild of America Sunday while accepting the Comedic Genius award at the 2023 MTV Movie & TV Awards Sunday
The Last Of Us star Pedro Pascal won the honor for Best Hero to kick off the award announcements on Sunday, as the show also garnered the honors for Best Show and Best Duo for Pascal and Bella Ramsey.
Pascal prevailed over a field including Andor’s Diego Luna, Wednesday’s Jenna Ortega, Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania’s Paul Rudd and Top Gun: Maverick’s Tom Cruise for the honors.
‘I want to say thank you, MTV Movie and TV awards,’ Pascal said in his acceptance speech. ‘I am a child of MTV. This means the absolute world to me. The people at MTV told me that 77.5 million people voted this year. Which blows my mind and just makes it such an honor.’
He continued, ‘I wish we could all be together so that I can look into your eyes and tell you that all young people in the world are my heroes and I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you. I want to say that you deserve a world that serves your interests.
‘You deserve to be healthy. You deserve to be safe. You deserve for your individual rights to be fought for and protected. You deserve real heroes in this world because you are real heroes to me. And I love you. Thank you. Thank you.’
Cruise was named the winner for Best Performance in a Movie for Top Gun: Maverick, besting fellow nominees Austin Butler (Elvis), Florence Pugh (Don’t Worry Darling), KeKe Palmer (Nope) and Michael B. Jordan (Creed III).
Cruise showed off his trademark showmanship as he delivered his acceptance speech from the air in a jet.
‘Hi, everyone, thank you so much for this award,’ the perennial A-lister said. ‘I make these films for you. I love you. I love entertaining you. How much you enjoy it, how much you appreciate it. There is no better feeling and I hope you enjoy this.
The White Lotus star said in her speech: ‘Almost all great comedy starts with great writers’
The American Pie alum paid tribute to her writing peers in accepting the Comedic Genius honors
Coolidge won a second award for Most Frightened Performance for The White Lotus at the event
She said, ‘My gosh, popcorn. Thank you. Oh, my go. Most frightening death. Thank you. I hope this is the last time that I ever die on a show. I would like to stay alive’
The beloved actress was one of the shining stars of the evening for the pre-taped program
Cruise was named the winner for Best Performance in a Movie for Top Gun: Maverick
Cruise showed off his trademark showmanship as he delivered his acceptance speech from the air in a jet
‘Dead reckoning coming out in July. It’s a wild ride. Have a wonderful summer. Thank you again for letting me entertain you. It’s an absolute privilege. We’ll see you at the movies.’
Scream VI was named the Best Movie of the year, edging out a field that included Avatar: The Way of Water, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Elvis, Nope, Smile and Top Gun: Maverick.
Wednesday’s Jenna Ortega was named the winner of Best Performance in a Show, besting a loaded category that consisted of Aubrey Plaza (The White Lotus), Christina Ricci (Yellowjackets), Riley Keough (Daisy Jones & The Six), Sadie Sink (Stranger Things) and Selena Gomez (Only Murders in the Building).
The Kardashians were named Best Docu-reality Series over Jersey Shore Family Vacation, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Family Reunion: Love & Hip Hop Edition and Vanderpump Rules.
In the category of Breakthrough Performance, Stranger Things star Joseph Quinn was crowned with the honor over fellow nominees Bad Bunny (Bullet Train), Bella Ramsey (The Last Of Us), Emma D’Arcy (House of the Dragon), and Rachel Sennott (Bodies Bodies Bodies).
Vanderpump Rules quarter Ariana Madix, Katie Maloney, Scheana Shay and LaLa Kent was named Best Reality On-Screen Team, besting stars from shows such as Jersey Shore Family Vacation, The Challenge: Ride or Dies, RuPaul’s Drag Race and The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.
Adam Sandler took home the prize for Best Comedic Performance, besting fellow nominees Coolidge (Shotgun Wedding), Dylan O’Brien (Not Okay), KeKe Palmer (Nope) and Quinta Brunson (Abbott Elementary).
In the category for Best Fight, the Scream VI conflict between Ghostface and Courteney Cox (as Gale Weathers) prevailed of the nominees.
RuPaul’s Drag Race: All-Stars was crowned the Best Competition Series, besting competitors including All-Star Shore, Big Brother, The Challenge: USA and The Traitors.
The Last Of Us star Pedro Pascal won the honor for Best Hero at the 2023 MTV Movie & TV Awards Sunday
The beloved leading man praised young people in his speech, saying, ‘You deserve real heroes in this world because you are real heroes to me’
Pascal and Bella Ramsey also won the honors for Best Duo for The Last Of Us
The actor, who plays the role of Joel on the video game adaptation, had his hands full with three trophies as the HBO series garnered the honors for Best Show
Drew Barrymore was slated to host, but backed out due to the WGA strike. Despite her absence, the Hollywood stalwart was also named the Best Host for The Drew Barrymore Show
Outer Banks stars Madison Bailey and Rudy Pankow were crowned winners in the Best Kiss category, defeating competitors such as The Last Of Us’ Anna Torv and Philip Prajoux, My Policeman’s Harry Styles and David Dawson, Daisy Jones & The Six’s Riley Keough and Sam Claflin and Only Murders in the Building’s Selena Gomez and Cara Delevingne.
The 2023 MTV Movie & TV Awards aired Sunday in a pre-taped broadcast amid the commencement of the WGA writers’ earlier this week.
The long-running awards show is one of the first victims of the ongoing dispute between the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers and the Writers Guild of America union.
Officials from the Writers Guild had pledged to picket at the event in Southern California – which will would have put celebrities in the awkward position of crossing the line – until MTV scuttled the live event Saturday evening.
MTV executive producer Bruce Gillmer said in a statement, ‘We’re pivoting away from a live event,’ according to the AP.
Gillmer said that the pre-taped format enables the network ‘to produce a memorable night full of exclusive sneak peaks, irreverent categories our audience has come to expect, and countless moments that will both surprise and delight.’
Writers are now on strike and picketing studios, leading the host Drew Barrymore to announce she was dropping out last Sunday.
The 48-year-old actress-turned-talk show host had been set to MC the festivities, but she is now putting her clout behind writers struggling to earn better pay and guarantees on staffing, as studios increasingly try to limit the size of writers’ rooms and shrink the number of episodes per series.
‘I have listened to the writers, and in order to truly respect them, I will pivot from hosting the MTV Movie & TV Awards live in solidarity with the strike,’ Barrymore told Variety. ‘Everything we celebrate and honor about movies and television is born out of their creation.’
In the category for Best Fight, the Scream VI conflict between Ghostface and Courteney Cox (as Gale Weathers) prevailed of the nominees; the horror villain accepted the honors in a pre-taped speech
Sofia Carson’s Come Back Home was named the Best Musical Moment for the film Purple Hearts
Barrymore added that she’ll be watching the show from home, and she stills plans to return as host next year.
Despite her absence, the Hollywood stalwart was also named the Best Host for The Drew Barrymore Show.
Though she won’t be at the Barker Hangar in person, she may still be in pre-taped sketches that were filmed prior to the start of the strike.
The labor action has also led the awards show to cancel its red carpet festivities, and other stars may also drop out to show support to strikers.
On Thursday, Vanderpump Rules star Lala Kent also announced she was no longer attending as a show of solidarity.
‘Although Vanderpump Rules falls under the unscripted sector of TV, that is not an excuse for me to remain silent and carry on as if there isn’t so much at stake for every writer and their families,’ she told The Hollywood Reporter in a statement. ‘We have to protect our creators and I hope you’ll stand with me and many others as we do so until we reach a resolution (hopefully very soon).’
As in previous years, the show will feature gender-neutral award categories.
The show, which had previously been split over two days for scripted and unscripted content, had been condensed back into a single evening this year.
Viewers can also stream the show on Paramount+.