Plus, Olivia Rodrigo launches Daisy Chains music festival and This Is About Humanity’s soirée draws a star-studded crowd
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When Mariska Hargitay hosted the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards at the Peacock Theater on Sept. 14, it marked the first time a woman had emceed the ceremony in 15 years.
However, it was presenter John Mulaney’s monologue about male underrepresentation that really riled the crowd. “Finally, something for the fellas. And what a crop of prom kings we have!” said Mulaney of the best lead actor in a drama series nominees, Noah Wyle, Gary Oldman, Sterling K. Brown, Rufus Sewell and Mark Ruffalo.
“Since the creation of television, men have been historically unrepresented,” Mulaney deadpanned. “For the first three years TV existed, there were no men on it: it was just beauty contests and children talking to hand puppets.”
The comedian got the biggest laughs when he added, “I believe it was DJ Khaled who said, ‘Real men don’t go down on their wives.’ But these nominees know that that is BS! They know there’s often less pressure on them if they do that first.”
He finished reading from Frank Vincent’s A Guy’s Guide to Being a Man’s Man before declaring The Pitt’s Wyle the winner. HBO Max’s medical series also took the top drama prize, while freshman Apple TV comedy Widow’s Bay set a record with 14 Emmy wins.
Center Stage
Olivia Rodrigo and Sarah McLachlan pay tribute to Dolly PartonCredit: Kimberly Ramirez
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On Saturday, Aug. 29, pop-rock phenom Olivia Rodrigo lured tends of thousands of fans to the Great Park in Irvine for the inaugural Daisy Chain Fields music festival despite temperatures in the mid-90s. Powered by an all-women talent lineup —including artists like Doechii and Chappell Roan — the event raised funds for 10 female-supporting organizations.
Before she was joined by Sarah McLachlan, Stevie Nicks and a surprise Alanis Morissette, Rodrigo took the stage just before 9 p.m. and announced the donation
total would be doubled from $10 to $20 million, thanks to Melinda French Gates. “You guys, this is the best day of my life,” Rodrigo said.
Meanwhile, a stylish crowd including Kim Kardashian, Wilmer Valderrama and Henry Winkler gathered at a Brentwood estate for This Is About Humanity’s 8th Annual Soirée. When Winkler led a live auction to benefit the group — which aids separated families at the U.S.-Mexico border — the first paddle to go up, pledging $50,000, was Kardashian’s.
Seen Around Town…
Sarah Snook attends The BAFTA TV Tea Party presented by Delta Air Lines and Virgin Atlantic and sponsored by Maison Perrier at The Maybourne Beverly Hills on Sunday, September 13, 2026. Credit: Amy Sussman/Getty Images for BAFTA
Brittany Snow, Ava Phillippe, Paris Brosnan, Ally Hilfiger and Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl were among the creatives and tastemakers who celebrated the Beverly Hills flagship opening of Lela Becker and Tim Kaeding’s hip denim and lifestyle brand, MOTHER.
HBO Max honored the 25th anniversary of Band of Brothers — the war drama miniseries created by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg — with a screening of the new documentary Band of Brothers: Legacy, attended by original cast members including Neal McDonough and Matthew Settle.
Guests at the BAFTA TV Tea party at the Maybourne Beverly Hills were particularly excited to see Love Story’s Sarah Pidgeon, All Her Fault’s Sarah Snook and the 11-year-old star of HBO’s A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, Dexter Sol Ansell — who fans asked for autographs as he left (he obliged).
And at the Walt Disney Company’s Emmy Awards party at Vibiana, The Shards’ Kaia Gerber — who attended with co-star Igby Rigney — caught eyes in a sexy white Alaïa look. Also mingling was the show’s creator Ryan Murphy, plus Jimmy Kimmel, Paul Anthony Kelly and Shailene Woodley.
Double Celebration
Credit: David Jon for HBO Max
Jean Smart took home a fifth Emmy for comedy series Hacks and made history as the first female performer to win the award for every season of a show. Additionally, the eight-time winner (who’s also won for Frasier and Samantha Who?) tied the all-time record of Emmy wins by an actress. As in previous years, Smart — whose birthday is Sept. 13 — celebrated over cake at the HBO Max Emmy Awards after-party at San Vicente Bungalows, with cast members including Meg Stalter, who dressed as an Emmy statuette.