Robby Hoffman admitted she left the 2025 Creative Arts Emmys after losing to her. Tips co-star Julianne Nicholson, and her account of the evening is as entertaining as anything she’s done on screen.
The comedian and actress, who played Randi in the HBO Max series, told the whole story in Tuesday’s episode. Bald and 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 portrayal of Mary “Dance Mom” Alice.
The problem was, Hoffman had arrived entirely convinced she was going home with the trophy.
“We are more than surprised to lose,” she admitted. “I come in, I’m already thinking, ‘Where am I going to put the Emmy?'” It was the first award of the night, which made losing even more difficult.
“We lose immediately, my sister says, ‘We don’t need this shit’ and pushes me out. She grabs my arm. ‘We leave this shit.'”
Mattel, who was also present at the ceremony, found Hoffman backstage and let him analyze the result.
The reality TV star recalled her friend’s entrance with her trademark frankness: “You walked into the room like your whole family had been murdered. You sat on the couch and you felt like you were in shock that you hadn’t won. You said to me, ‘I don’t think I cared and now I lost and I’m upset.'”
But leaving completely wasn’t an option.
Hoffman had a contractual obligation to deliver an award, and his attempts to get out of it were soundly rejected.
“I said, ‘No, I don’t want to do this anymore.’ They said, ‘No, it’s part of the program!'” she recalls.
“I was like, well, my situation has changed. My situation has changed! I’m not in the mood, and they want me to read everything that’s on this teleprompter. I’m going, one thing I know, I’m not saying what they make me say.”
A little champagne helped.
She finally 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” meritorious, calling her performance “incredible”, and noted that she faced “insane” competition, including Olivia Colman and Zoë Kravitz.
She also pointed out that she already holds an Emmy, winning in 2019 for her writing on the children’s series Strange squad, it was easier to absorb the loss.
“We can’t say something is fake,” she said. “I like to defer blame for a long time before saying, ‘Rob, did anyone do it better than you?’ Everything is fine.”
