The best and worst moments from the 2025 SAG Awards

A hungry Harrison Ford, wonky sound, the return of Deborah Vance, and more.

Jessica Williams and Harrison Ford at the 2025 SAG Awards . Photo: Netflix

Awards shows are like one big happy family. The Oscars are your beloved but slightly uptight grandma; the Golden Globes are your fun cousin who sometimes gets a little too sloppy at parties, and the SAG Awards are your cool young aunt who knows how to have a good time but always keeps it classy. Here are the best and worst moments from the 31st annual Screen Actors Guild Awards, hosted by Kristen Bell.

BEST: Deborah Vance reveals feud with Jamie Lee Curtis

Jean Smart as Deborah Vance at the 2025 SAG Awards.Netflix

It’s going to be months before we get a new season of Hacks, but at least the SAG Awards gave us two minutes of Deborah Vance goodness to hold us over for a while. While prepping to host the 31st annual Screen Actors Guild Awards, Deborah (nominee Jean Smart) practices this poison jab for her monologue: “It’s an honor to be here with so many amazing actresses — and Jamie Lee Curtis.” When Ava (Hannah Einbinder) reacts in shock, Deborah growls, “She knows what she did!” Alas, we’ll never know the origin of this divalicious feud, because as it turns out, SAG didn’t send her an invite to host — the letter was actually about her six years of unpaid union dues. “When I got the envelope, I just assumed it was an offer to host, because you should,” cries an apologetic Kayla (Megan Stalter). “I mean, who’s been in SAG longer than you?” Add the Substance joke at the end and you have the perfect awards-show opener: Funny, self-referential, and starring Jean Smart.

2025 SAG Awards winners announced: See the full list, from Timothée Chalamet to a Conclave upset

WORST: COVID is back, baby

Colin Farrell and Jamie Lee Curtis at the 2025 SAG Awards.Netflix

It may be a few years since the pandemic “ended,” but COVID sure is looming large over the 2025 awards season. Only Murders in the Building star Martin Short — winner of the Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series — wasn’t there to pick up his statue because he’s home sick with COVID. (Which, by the way, he apparently contracted at another crowded, celeb-filled event: The SNL 50th anniversary special.) And when Jamie Lee Curtis announced Colin Farrell as winner in the Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie category, she referred to him as, “The man who gave me COVID at the Golden Globes.” The Penguin star didn’t deny it. “Guilty as charged,” he quipped. “But Brendan Gleeson f—ing gave it to me!” Stars — they’re just like us! (That is, susceptible to illness.)

BEST: Harrison Ford (and his bread) wander into the shot

Jessica Williams at the 2025 SAG Awards.Netflix

The SAG Awards tradition of having several stars in the audience tell a story about how they became a card-carrying SAG member continued tonight. But when it was Jessica Williams’ turn to share her story, her Shrinking costar Harrison Ford stole the spotlight by bringing a piece of bread to his mouth right behind her, causing the audience and Williams to break into giggles. “I told him to turn away!” Williams shrieked good-naturedly, as Ford conspicuously shifted around in his chair. “Don’t look!” See, kids? This is why even seasoned actors should never skip rehearsals.

See all the stars at the 2025 SAG Awards

WORST: Here, here — did you hear that?

Jane Fonda accepts the SAG Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2025 SAG Awards.Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty

Netflix has come a long way since their first attempt at a live event — the “live” Love Is Blind reunion that wasn’t — but the streamer still clearly needs to work out some technical kinks for its awards show productions. Lifetime Achievement Award winner Jane Fonda kicked off her speech with a literal shout-out to the ceremony’s sound issues — “What about the sound system? I’m gonna talk loud!” — only to be interrupted later by a weird drilling noise and a prerecorded announcer voice. Sound was a problem throughout the evening, and a malfunctioning mic came close to ruining Adam Brody and Kristen Bell’s Nobody Wants This bit. Why are we not surprised that Netflix has perfected the art of putting commercials in their programming, but they still haven’t figured out something basic like sound?

WEIRDEST: Fran Drescher does her thing (again)

Fran Drescher warns against climate change at the 2025 SAG Awards.Netflix

Last year, Fran Drescher showed up at the SAG Awards and issued an ominous warning about Artificial Intelligence: “AI WILL ENTRAP US IN A MATRIX WHERE NONE OF US KNOW WHAT’S REAL!” Apparently, Drescher hopes to make doomsaying her new ceremony tradition, because this year, the SAG-AFTRA president used her time on stage to yell about the (very real) threat climate change poses to celebrity and civilian alike. “WAKE UP, HUMANS!” she bellowed. “We can’t let greed continue to deny global warming!” Once again, her stern words earned tepid applause from a crowd that honestly just wanted to go two hours without thinking about humanity’s downward trajectory into civil, moral, and environmental oblivion.