Critics Choice Awards 2025: Adam Brody and Leighton Meester’s Kiss Was One of Many Memorable Moments

They say nobody likes a critic, but everyone sure seemed to have a good time at the 2025 Critics Choice Awards. On February 7, the biggest names in Hollywood met up the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica to celebrate this year’s strongest achievements in film and television, as awarded by the Critics Choice Association and hosted by Chelsea Handler.

Although the ceremony was broadcast live on E! and was available to stream online, the awards show does not score the same viewership numbers as the Golden Globes, Emmys, or Academy Awards. That didn’t stop stars from showing up in some of the best red carpet looks of the year, between Demi Moore‘s sculptural Schiaparelli gown and Ariana Grande‘s couture Dior cage dress that reportedly took 3,800 hours to make.

Clearly, the stars did not come to play…at least when it came to fashion. Perhaps the lower-pressure environment inspired some of the most unserious and unexpected moments of the night. From Chelsea Handler’s joke about the It Ends With Us lawsuits to Adam Brody’s emotional tribute to Leighton Meester, here are some of the most memorable moments of the night.

Chelsea Handler thanks Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni in her monologue

While Golden Globes host Nikki Glaser purposefully left the It Ends With Us lawsuits out of her opening monologue, Chelsea Handler decided to wade right into the controversy. “I want to acknowledge that we’ve been through a lot lately, not just here in Los Angeles, but our entire country,” Handler said in her opening monologue, per People. “Waking up every day not knowing what news we’re going to hear that will disappoint or horrify us.”

She continued, “So it is important in times like these to have a distraction, and that’s why I want to personally extend my gratitude to Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively. Thank you for providing us with that distraction. I’m grateful. I think we’re all grateful. And I think we’re good. I think everybody in this room, no matter whose side you’re on, we can all agree to accept that there’s probably not going to be a sequel.”