Why Bowen Yang dropped out of presenting prize at Actor Awards with Connor Storrie
Kathryn Hahn presented at the Actor Awards with Connor Storrie instead of Bowen Yang. (Getty)
Kathryn Hahn was forced to step in to present alongside Connor Storrie at last night’s Actor Awards, formerly known at the SAG Awards, after Bowen Yang pulled out for a very unique reason.
Taking to the stage at the ceremony in Los Angeles last night (1 March) to present the Outstanding Performance by a Female in a Drama Series accolade, Hahn was quick to explain Yang’s surprise absence.
“Before we present this award, we have a confession that we’d like to make,” she said, standing next to Heated Rivalry breakout star Storrie.
“First of all, I wasn’t even supposed to be presenting this award. Right now I am Bowen Yang, because he is casually stuck in Antarctica,” she explained.
As the ceremony organisers flashed a selfie of Yang wrapped up warm while posing in front of an iceberg, Hahn laughed: “No, that’s for real!”
“Do y’all remember when he played an actual iceberg on SNL?” asked Storrie, who made his own Saturday Night Live debut on 28 February.
“I mean, not really, but…” Hahn quipped, to a laugh from the audience. “Yeah, me neither. The drama. And we can find drama anywhere,” Storrie continued.
The pair proceeded to joke about the amount of drama – among other things – that made Heated Rivalry the hit show it became.
“I love drama. And romance. Like your show! But mostly, drama,” Hahn said.
“And sex,” Storrie winked, flashing a knowing look to the crowd. “A lot of sex,” Hahn agreed.
In a statement to Entertainment Weekly, representatives for Wicked star Bowen Yang confirmed that he had to pull out of the Actor Awards as “there were travel issues coming from Antarctica”.
The actor spoke about taking the trip to the world’s coldest continent in January, during the “Exit Interview” episode of his podcast Las Culturistas, which he co-hosts with his pal, Matt Rogers.
After their Heated Rivalry bit, Connor Storrie and Kathryn Hahn announced that The Diplomat star Keri Russell had won the Outstanding Performance by a Female in a Drama Series award, beating off competition from Pluribus star Rhea Seehorn, Severance’s Britt Lower, and The White Lotus actresses, Aimee Lou Wood and Parker Posey.
On social media, fans have dubbed Hahn and Storrie as a presenting power pair.
“You let Kathryn Hahn near a pretty curly haired boy for two minutes and she will adopt him INSTANTLY,” wrote one X user, seemingly referring to Hahn’s close friendship with her Agatha All Along co-star Joe Locke.
“The way he’s just everybody’s baby,” wrote a second gushing Connor Storrie stan.
“ICONIC DUO!!,” yelled a third, as a fourth quipped: “The LGBTQ community won!”
Other big winners at the Actor Awards included Michael B Jordan who won in the Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role category for Sinners, and Weapons star Amy Madigan, who took home the Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role accolade.
Catherine O’Hara was posthumously awarded the Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series award for her role in The Studio. She died in January, aged 71.
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