Comedian Robby Hoffman admitted to walking out of the Emmy Awards after losing to Hacks co-star Julianne Nicholson.
Hoffman, 36, was nominated for the Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series category at the 2025 Emmys for her role in Hacks. The actress revealed that she did not take the outcome too kindly, calling herself a “sore loser.”
Speaking with RuPaul’s Drag Race star Trixie Mattel on the Bald and the Beautiful podcast, Hoffman said that she and her sister were “already acting like we got the Emmy” at the ceremony. Hoffman was competing against Nicholson, Olivia Colman, Jamie Lee Curtis, Cynthia Erivo, and Zoë Kravitz.
“I lose immediately. We’re the first award up. I immediately lost. And we woke up with all the gusto in the world,” Hoffman joked. “My sister Kai and I wake up, and she’s like, ‘It’s a shoo-in.’ Like, we’re already acting like we got the Emmy. We got the mimosas.”
“We were like, ‘Oh my God, who’s even in the category,’” she continued. “And you know, the category is literally Olivia Colman, Zoë Kravitz. It’s like insane. We’re like, it’s a shoo-in.”
“Like, I walk in like I’m already like, ‘Where am I going to put the Emmy? I got to put it next to my writing Emmy. We’re building a collection now.’ And so, we lose immediately. My sister goes, ‘We don’t need this s--t.’ Pushes me out. She grabs me by the arm, and we’re leaving this s--t.”
Hoffman said she and her sister were “horrified” by the loss, joking that they blamed it on everything from homophobia to antisemitism to transphobia.
The actress also recalled that Mattel comforted her and her sister backstage after the awards debacle. “We lose, and we leave, and we are stewing. And you embraced the stew,” she told the RuPaul star and podcast host.
Mattel responded that Hoffman’s energy was “refreshing.” “You entered the room like your whole family was murdered. You sat on the couch, and it felt like you were in shock that you were actually upset about not winning. You’d said to me, ‘I don’t think I cared, and now I lost, and I’m upset,’” he said.
But the Rooster actress admitted that Nicholson, 54, “beyond deserved” to receive the honor for her stint on Hacks, HBO’s cherished comedy about comedy.
“If not for me, her for ‘Hacks,’ you know,” said Hoffman. “She was amazing, and she was the best.”
Hoffman had a recurring role in both seasons 4 and 5 of the show, appearing in an 8-episode arc as the assistant to Kayla (Megan Stalter) and Jimmy (Paul W. Downs). For her stint, Hoffman was crowned a “fan favorite” by the New York Times.
The actress also recalled that she ultimately had to present a category at the Emmys. “I had to present cinematography. I said, ‘Nah, I don’t want to do that anymore.’ They said, ‘No, it’s part of the program!’” said Hoffman. “I was like, well, my circumstances changed. My circumstances have changed! I’m not in the mood, and they want me to read whatever’s on this teleprompter.”
“They want you to hold an Emmy for somebody else that could’ve been yours? I’m giving somebody else an Emmy now? It’s criminal!” she quipped.
