11 Celebs Who Hate Going To Awards Shows & Aren't Apologizing For It

From the Grammys to the Golden Globes to the Academy Awards and everything in between, there are plenty of celebrities who aren't fans of awards shows. There are plenty of stars who have trashed the Oscars, and a number of performers who have boycotted the Grammys, but it's their rationales (and unapologetic attitudes) that have made their stances stand the test of time. Some have sent in proxies to accept their awards, while others have used their acceptance speeches to encourage others to fight back against injustices, but all of them have one thing in common: they are not going to apologize for their feelings. "No other industry expects everyone to care about what awards they shower upon themselves," Seth Rogen once said in an interview with Business Insider. But he also noted that as of late, the popular consensus sides with him. "Maybe people just don't care. Maybe they did for a while, and they stopped caring. And why should they?"

It's no secret how The Weeknd really feels about the Grammy Awards. In 2020, at the height of the singer's "Blinding Lights" era, fans were shocked when he received zero nominations for the record-breaking single and the accompanying album "After Hours." Despite already having four Grammys to his name, it was clear that the multi-platinum artist felt some type of way. "The Grammys remain corrupt," he shared in a since-deleted post to X (via Forbes). "You owe me, my fans and the industry transparency." He even cancelled his planned performance that year, saying he no longer felt comfortable or welcome to participate in the ceremony.

By the next year, The Weeknd decided to no longer submit his music for consideration for future awards. He specifically called out the Recording Academy, which organizes the Grammys, and their use of anonymous committees to solidify the final nominations before the academy membership began voting. This feud lasted years until the artist took the stage (and the audience) by surprise in 2025 to perform a medley of his hits "Cry for Me" and "Timeless." This was preceded by Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. sharing updates about the academy's structure with the audience (and the world). "What we all want is an organization dedicated to the wellbeing of all music makers and one that reflects the entire music community for now and for future generations," Mason declared (via CNN). "So over the past few years, we've listened, we've acted, and we've changed."

Despite being nominated for his fair share of Oscars, Bradley Cooper isn't keen on the idea of flaunting his art just for awards' sake. In a conversation with his "A Star Is Born" co-star Anthony Ramos, the two opined about the ridiculousness of awards shows and why they don't think they fully represent the hard work of their industry. "It's completely devoid of artistic creation," he shared in the Interview piece. "It's not why you sacrifice everything to create art, and yet you spend so much time being a part of it if you're, in quotes, 'lucky enough to be a part of it.'"

Cooper has been nominated for a dozen Academy Awards across acting, directing, writing, and producing, along with a slew of other accolades. There have certainly been missed opportunities — like when he was snubbed for a best director nod for "A Star Is Born" in 2019 — which he shared was not surprising to him. "The first thing I felt was embarrassment, actually," he admitted to Oprah Winfrey in an interview (via CBS News). "I felt embarrassed that I didn't do my part. I'll work on that." Even though he hasn't claimed that golden statue just yet, he did admit that there are certain perks to being involved in the conversation — despite the overall situation being "utterly meaningless." "It's ultimately a great thing because it really does make you face ego, vanity, and insecurity," he admitted in the Interview piece.

When Eminem released his iconic single "Lose Yourself," the success was immediate, racking up both a Grammy and an Oscar while also becoming one of his most enduring hits. But in 2003, the rapper admitted he wasn't interested in participating in the Academy Awards hubbub — even after just performing the song on the Grammy Awards weeks prior. "Back then, I never even thought that I had a chance to win," he shared with Variety. "And also, back at that time, the younger me didn't really feel like a show like that would understand me." Despite not appearing in person, the song went on to become the first rap song to win the Academy Award for best original song.

Years later, in classic Eminem style, he brought down the house with a surprise performance at the 2020 Oscars ceremony, making up for lost time after almost two decades. "I kinda figured maybe since I didn't get a chance to do it at the time, maybe it would be cool," he told the publication. Even after all of those years away from the Oscars stage, the rapper found great reward in finally making it there. "Look, if you had another shot, another opportunity," he quipped in an X post, citing the song's lyrics. "Thanks for having me @/TheAcademy. Sorry it took me 18 years to get here."

The late, great Katharine Hepburn may be the performer who holds the record for the most best actress Oscar wins in history, but throughout her lifetime, she never appeared at the ceremonies to collect them. The famously independent star only graced the Academy Awards stage once, when she presented an award to her friend, producer Lawrence Weingarten, in 1974. "I'm living proof that a person can wait 41 years to be unselfish," she said during the ceremony (via The Hollywood Reporter).

The legendary actor won her statues for her leading roles in "Morning Glory," "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner," "The Lion in Winter," and "On Golden Pond" — all pieces that live on in the lexicon of iconic films. But despite the fame and accolades these roles brought her, she never sought that type of attention and found it to be unimportant in the grand scheme of things. "As for me, prizes are nothing," she has been quoted as saying. "My real award is the work." This type of mentality has seemed to inspire other actors, including the reclusive multi-Oscar winner Daniel Day-Lewis. Like Hepburn, Day-Lewis has been lauded for his incredible work on screen, but is known for leaving the bright lights of Hollywood behind as soon as filming wraps to escape from the public eye. "Being an actor is such a humiliating experience because you are selling yourself to the public," Hepburn once revealed (via Far Out Magazine).

Another legendary actor, Marlon Brando, was equally as notorious for his distaste for the Oscars and all of the notoriety that came with them. The two-time Oscar winner made the most waves, however, when he declined to accept his 1973 award for best actor in "The Godfather." Instead, he sent Sacheen Littlefeather, a Native American activist, in his stead to publicly refuse the award. His reasoning? He was in protest of Hollywood's treatment of Native Americans. "He very regretfully cannot accept this very generous award," Littlefeather shared on stage while met with both cheers and jeers from the audience (via Oscars). "I beg that ... we will, in the future, our hearts and our understandings will meet with love and generosity."

However, Brando has also shown the Academy great love, particularly in the prime of his career. When he won his first Oscar in 1955 for his iconic role in "On the Waterfront," he was seen exuberantly jumping from his seat and bounding to the stage to receive it from fellow legend Bette Davis. "It's much heavier than I imagined," he quipped to the audience (via Gold Derby). "It's a wonderful moment and a rare one, and I'm certainly indebted." Despite his previous excitement, Brando never again attended an Oscars ceremony, despite being nominated several more times before his death in 2004.

While Ed Sheeran has shown us the real reason he's embarrassed to release his songs (spoiler alert: he sometimes thinks they're too personal), he's not too embarrassed to share his thoughts on awards season. He has lamented the overall atmosphere of certain ceremonies, where the pressure of achieving success overpowers the room. "The room is filled with resentment and hatred towards everyone else and it's quite an uncomfortable atmosphere," he revealed to "The Julia Show" (via BBC). "It's just lots of people wanting other people to fail and I don't like that." He did praise some of the artists for focusing on their work, but cited many of their representatives for changing the energy of the evening. "All the artists are sweet people, but they're surrounded by entourages that want them to win too, so it's one artist surrounded by ten people and another artist surrounded by ten people and everyone is kind of giving each other the side-eye," he explained.

Though he didn't show much care for some ceremonies, he admitted that there are some that have their fair share of fun — particularly at home in the U.K. "In England, our award shows are just like, everyone gets drunk and no one really cares who wins or loses, it's just sort of a good night out," he shared.

Sir Anthony Hopkins may be the reason a 2021 Oscars upset had everyone heartbroken, but he's felt equally emotional about awards season himself. When it comes to publicity, "The Silence of the Lambs" star is just as happy to avoid it and let his work speak for itself. "In a way, I'm sort of relieved that I don't have to get embroiled in all this," he shared with HuffPost. "It makes no difference ... having to be nice to people and to be charming and flirting with them ... oh, come on! People go out of their way to flatter the nominating body and I think it's kind of disgusting. That's always been against my nature." He went on to describe how much that gladhanding of many in Hollywood, a practice he has seen throughout his entire career, made him ill at ease. "I saw it fairly recently, last year ... I [thought], 'What are they doing? Don't they have any self-respect?” he said.

Coincidentally, Hopkins pulled a Marlon Brando and missed out on winning his 2021 Oscar in person — all because he thought he wouldn't win. When he sent shockwaves through the industry after edging out the late Chadwick Boseman for best actor, he shared his thoughts in response. "I want to pay tribute to Chadwick Boseman who was taken from us far too early, and again, thank you all very much," he remarked in an Instagram video. "I really did not expect this, so I feel very privileged and honored."

Some entertainers have famously lamented about awards season year after year, but some, like Oscar Isaac, have gone a step further and criticized the awards categories themselves. In 2018, the Academy Awards announced plans for a new category for "Outstanding Achievement in a Popular Film." Many saw it as a way to allow Hollywood blockbusters that wouldn't normally be competitive in the standard Oscars categories to have their own category, ultimately leading to it being abandoned altogether. One of those critics was Oscar Isaac: "I don't really understand it," he shared with USA Today. "I haven't read the rules of the thing. It seems pretty dumb, but I guess that's above my pay grade."

Despite receiving his own critical acclaim for roles in films like "Inside Llewyn Davis," Isaac has yet to receive his own Oscar nomination. He has expounded upon the why and how entertainers obtain nominations in their respective industries and ultimately explains that adding additional categories to fight over is the opposite of what is needed in Hollywood. "The reason why people get awards and why they don't now is already a slippery slope," he told the publication. "Another category seems a little meaningless, but maybe not any more than the rest of it is."

Some artists have gone beyond criticizing awards shows and directly challenged the people behind them — and that includes R&B artist Frank Ocean. After performing at the 2013 Grammys for the first time (and experiencing unfortunate technical difficulties throughout), then Grammys producer Ken Ehrlich and writer David Wild lamented the "faulty" performance in an interview with Rolling Stone. The pair were responding to initial criticism from Ocean, who had called the ceremony "dated" and out of touch when it came to young Black artists, causing him to not submit his music for consideration in 2016. But Ocean wasn't done — after the Rolling Stone interview was published, he took to his Tumblr page to write a scathing retort to their claims. "You think that's why I kept my work out of the Grammys process this year?" he posited in the post. "Don't you think I would've wanted to play the show to 'redeem' myself if I felt that way?"

The blog went on to reiterate the "cultural bias" that Ocean says the academy suffers from, even going so far as to point to Taylor Swift's "1989" besting Kendrick Lamar's "To Pimp a Butterfly" in the 2015 Album of the Year race. Despite the harsh words, he did leave the door open for a potential reunion — on his terms. "If you're up for a discussion about the cultural bias and general nerve damage the show you produce suffers from then I'm all for it," he said.

Another celebrity who tried to take an awards ceremony and its backing business to task was Eddie Murphy. During the 1988 Oscars ceremony, the comedy legend took the stage to present an award alongside another comedy icon, the late Robin Williams. Before going on stage, Murphy had planned to address the audience (and the Academy) for the lack of representation of Black actors in Hollywood. He pitched his idea to Williams backstage just before they went on, and the "Shrek" star was stunned to find Williams was hesitant about his material. "I was like, 'I'm gonna say this.' And he goes to me, like, 'But why go there?'" he recalled to Entertainment Weekly. "I was trying to be funny and say a little something, but be funny too. Have a little edge to what I said."

He ended up going through with his impromptu speech, citing the then three Black performers who had won Oscars up until that point. "I'll probably never win an Oscar for saying this, but hey, what the hey, I gotta say it," he stated. He also revealed that he originally turned down the offer to present at the ceremony due to these injustices. "I just feel that we have to be recognized as a people ... Black people will not ride the caboose of society, and we will not bring up the rear anymore."

Despite winning multiple Oscars and being part of the reason that got everyone talking about the 2021 ceremony, Joaquin Phoenix certainly hasn't kept his thoughts to himself when it comes to the prestigious event. While promoting his film "The Master" in 2012, the future Oscar winner lamented even attending the event in the first place, let alone potentially being nominated. "I don't want to be a part of it. I don't believe in it," he stated plainly to Interview Magazine. "It's totally subjective. Pitting people against each other ... It's the stupidest thing in the whole world." He cites his experience promoting "Walk the Line," in which he famously played Johnny Cash and received an Academy Award nomination, as the rationale behind his vehement dislike of the system. "I don't know how to explain it — and it's not like I'm in this place where I think I'm just above it — but I just don't ever want to get comfortable with that part of things," he told the publication.

Throughout the years, he has funneled his feelings through a different medium, mainly during his acceptance speeches. He has advocated for action on climate change and global environmentalism rather than berate the industry as a whole. "Sometimes we have to take responsibility [for] ourselves and make changes and sacrifices in our own lives," he said during his Golden Globe speech after winning best actor in a drama film for "Joker" in 2020 (via CNN).