For one night only, in a restored prewar movie palace, the cast of “Hacks,” Lisa Rinna in costume as “Jacob Elordi leaving an airport” and Pikachu were saluted with the same awe.
The fifth annual Las Culturistas Culture Awards, created and hosted by the comedians Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers, were held at the United Theater on Broadway in Los Angeles on May 30. The show aired tonight on Bravo and is now streaming on Peacock.
An offshoot of the hosts’ popular “Las Culturistas” podcast, the celebrity-packed comedy special is both a parody of the self-seriousness of awards shows and a loving tribute to the nooks and crannies of pop culture that traditional ceremonies ignore.
“This is the most important night for girls and gays,” said Sarah Sherman, Yang’s former “Saturday Night Live” castmate, as she walked the preshow carpet, adding: “If you don’t have culture, what’s left? Computers and math? I don’t think so, honey.”
As in years past, the awards ranged from the broad to the highly specific. Stacey Rusch of “The Real Housewives of Potomac” beat Mayor Zohran Mamdani for best new artist.
Ciara Miller, a fan favorite from the Bravo reality series “Summer House,” won this year’s “Allison Williams cool girl award.”
“When I found out I was winning an award, I thought my team was playing with me,” Miller said in an interview. “I’ve been telling everybody, obviously.”
Hannah Einbinder of “Hacks” took the “all good either way” award for bisexuality in media over “We think the Rock from ‘Moana’ live-action” and “Every character on ‘Industry’ based on what plot requires.”
Eric Nam, a singer and recent contestant on the Peacock reality series “The Traitors,” won most surprising snack, toppling competitors that included “Big thing of cottage cheese” and “The guy who plays Neville Longbottom, he’s been working out.”
“Cottage cheese is protein — do you know how big of a deal protein is?” Nam said in an interview. “I feel so grateful that I beat these very big contenders, that I held my own in a stacked category.”
Yang, 35, and Rogers, 36, picked this year’s winners in advance. Spanning more than 100 categories, the awards recognized humans, foods, cartoons and abstract ideas that may or may not have played a significant role in pop culture over the last 12 months.
“Here at the Culture Awards,” Yang stressed onstage, “there is no such thing as high or low culture. Everything is just culture.”
Inside the Spanish Gothic theater that once screened films starring Mary Pickford and John Barrymore, an audience of raucous fans from across the country took their seats to watch the sold-out live ceremony, which was taped in advance and televised for the second year.
“We’ve been following Matt and Bowen for such a long time, and it just means the world to us to be able to be here,” said Jennifer Ambrosini, 35, who traveled from Chicago with her best friend, Katie Dincolo, 35, and predicted the night would be more exciting than Dincolo’s future wedding.
After a “Heated Rivalry”-themed video montage, Yang and Rogers strutted onstage, ripping off hockey jerseys to reveal coordinated cream-and-black suits underneath. They segued into the first performance, singing and dancing with hockey sticks to t.A.T.u.’s “All the Things She Said.”
The hosts also dutifully handed out sweeping honorary awards to industry luminaries. Will Ferrell, whose podcast network is a producer of “Las Culturistas,” accepted the award for titan of culture, and Lisa Kudrow for lifetime of culture.
To help introduce Kudrow, Ben Platt performed a vibrato-filled rendition of “Smelly Cat,” a comedic ditty that Kudrow’s character Phoebe sang on the series “Friends.” He was accompanied by dancing alley cat puppets crafted by the Bob Baker Marionette Theater.
The performance was a triumphant return for Platt, whose cover of Addison Rae’s “Diet Pepsi” merited an official streaming release after last year’s ceremony. (“Ben Platt is family at this point,” Rogers effused in an interview.)
Rae’s music also received a fresh moment in the spotlight: Rachel Zegler belted an operatic version of the Rae’s “Fame Is a Gun” (a record of the year nominee) while perched behind a prop balcony railing reminiscent of Zegler’s “Evita” performances in the West End of London.
Rogers said the hosts came up with the idea after seeing Rae perform the track at Coachella.
“We pitched it to Rachel, and she said that ‘Fame Is a Gun’ was actually on her playlist for preparing for ‘Evita,’” Rogers said. “She felt like Addison Rae’s examination of fame was very similar to her own in that song, as well as to Eva Perón’s, in a way, so it’s extra cool.”
Several fictional characters received acclaim, including a sensual version of Shrek, played by one of the “Hacks” creators, Paul W. Downs, who was painted green, and Pikachu, who appeared in the form of a large mascot that held hands with Yang and Rogers as they energetically sang the Pokémon theme song, “Gotta Catch ‘Em All.”
Pikachu was also honored with a “30 under 30” award, beating nominees like Chase Infiniti, Windows 98, “Hamnet,” Punch the monkey and Greta Thunberg.
“I love Pikachu — I’ve known him for a long time,” said Jaboukie Young-White, a 31-year-old comedian nominated in the same category. “It is kind of crazy that he won, but I’m really happy for him.”
Some of the loudest cheers of the night erupted when Miss Piggy appeared onstage in a pink feathered look. The applause continued until she screamed: “That’s enough! Please, respect my time!” She then accepted her honorary award as the grande dame diva of culture, divahood and porcine glamour.
After the show, many of the celebrity participants packed into a moody, wallpapered lounge several blocks away inside Level 8 at the Moxy hotel for an after-party hosted by United Talent Agency and 3 Arts Entertainment.
A D.J. spun 2000s anthems — like “1, 2 Step” by Ciara and Missy Elliott — as attendees congratulated Rogers and Yang, and servers wandered with trays of potato chips topped with caviar.
“It’s pure gratitude and joy and incredulity at how we pulled it off,” Yang said. “I’m just really touched that everyone seemed to have a good time.”
Meg Stalter, a comedian who starred on “Hacks” and has recently segued into a music career, danced on a velvet banquette. She showed the crowd a photo of herself on her phone, as a D.J. played her song “Prettiest Girl in America,” which she had performed at the ceremony and had been nominated for the record of the year at the culture awards.
Stalter, wearing a satin nude minidress, described the night as “a full pop star fantasy.”
The post At Las Culturistas With Will Ferrell, Pikachu and a Big Thing of Cottage Cheese appeared first on New York Times.
