Emmy producers realized Beyoncé and Jay-Z would be absent from the 2025 ceremony when the duo didn’t show up in formation.
The team behind the star-studded event at Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on Sunday, Sept. 14, recalled the moment they confirmed the Grammy-winning couple wouldn’t be attending the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards.
At the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Calif., on Dec. 9, 2024, Jesse Collins Entertainment producers Jesse Collins, Dionne Harmon, and Jeannae Rouzan-Clay revealed they realized Beyoncé and Jay-Z were no-shows as soon as the ceremony began.
“We figured it out when they weren’t in the seats,” Collins told Variety after the show, joking that he immediately thought, “‘Oh, you guys aren’t coming!’”
Both Beyoncé and Jay-Z were nominated for Outstanding Variety Special (Live).
The “Break My Soul” singer received a nod for Beyoncé Bowl, the Netflix special of her NFL 2024 Christmas Day Halftime Show, which was competing against The Apple Music Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show Starring Kendrick Lamar, produced by her husband, who also serves as her record executive.
Beyoncé performed her halftime show during the Netflix livestream of the Christmas NFL game between the Baltimore Ravens and Houston Texans at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, on Dec. 25, 2024.
Collins, who also executive-produced Beyoncé’s NFL special, told the outlet that if the “Break My Soul” singer truly wanted to attend, she would have.
“She can make anything happen,” he said. “It doesn’t matter where she is in the world right now—if she wants to be here, she’ll be here, and there will be a seat for her. Several. We’re ready for them and whatever they want to do… those are my bosses, so it’s up to them.”
Despite their nominations, the superstar duo faced tough competition and ultimately lost to Lorne Michaels, who took home the Outstanding Variety Special (Live) award for SNL50: The Anniversary Special.
Lorne Michaels, right, along with the cast and crew of SNL50: The Anniversary Special, accepted the Outstanding Variety Special (Live) award during the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards on Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025, at Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.
When the 80-year-old Saturday Night Live creator took the stage, he reflected on winning the first-ever award in the category five decades ago.
“I won this award for the first time 50 years ago, in 1976. I was younger and had a lot of dreams about what would happen in my life,” Michaels told the star-studded audience. “Not one of those dreams was me doing the same show for the next 50 years.”
While thanking NBC and Comcast, he joked about having an unlimited budget while producing the 50th anniversary special.
James Austin Johnson, Heidi Gardner, Ego Nwodim, Chloe Fineman, Sarah Sherman, and Bowen Yang at the Television Academy in North Hollywood, Calif., on June 2, 2025.
“The [anniversary] show was two years in the planning, and they said, ‘We don’t care what it costs as long as it’s good.’ Maybe they didn’t say that—maybe that’s just what I heard,” Michaels joked.
The SNL50 special was also nominated for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series but lost the Emmy to HBO’s 100 Foot Wave, which chronicled surfing pioneer Garrett McNamara’s quest to conquer a 100-foot wave in Portugal.
Michaels’ win comes amid a major shakeup at SNL ahead of its 51st season.
Heidi Gardner as Dana Banes and Bowen Yang as Jace L. Rio during the “Park Red Carpet” cold open on Saturday, April 15, 2023.
Devon Walker and Ego Nwodim in the “Life Insurance” sketch on Saturday, May 3, 2025.
Michael Longfellow and Ego Nwodim as Tiffany in the “Blind Date” sketch on Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024.
Comedians Devon Walker, Emil Wakim, Michael Longfellow, Ego Nwodim, and Heidi Gardner will not return when the beloved sketch comedy show premieres next month.
While Walker, Wakim, Longfellow, and Nwodim have addressed their departures, Gardner has not commented. An insider told The Post that her contract with SNL was not renewed.
On the Emmys red carpet, Lorne Michaels acknowledged that introducing fresh faces is crucial to keeping the series from growing stale.
Ashley Padilla as Susan McGrath, Emil Wakim as Keith, and host Scarlett Johansson as Denise Jones in the “Local News Stories” sketch on Saturday, May 17, 2025.
Michael Longfellow and Heidi Gardner in the “Edible Arrangements” sketch on Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025.
“It’s essential that we bring new people in every year,” Lorne Michaels told Extra, highlighting how audience preferences influence casting.
“The longest four years of your life are high school, and I think that’s when people tend to attach to a cast, and that is the age of our audience in a way,” he added. “The old audience is there, but they fall asleep early.”
For SNL Season 51, five new featured players have been added. Tommy Brennan, Jeremy Culhane, Ben Marshall, Kam Patterson, and Veronika Slowikowska will make their debuts when the series returns to Studio 8H in October.
Host Walton Goggins, Bowen Yang, and Heidi Gardner in the “Service Dogs” sketch on Saturday, May 10, 2025.
The Post has confirmed that Bowen Yang, Chloe Fineman, Kenan Thompson, Colin Jost, and Michael Che will all return, along with Mikey Day, Sarah Sherman, Marcello Hernández, Andrew Dismukes, James Austin Johnson, and Season 50 newcomers Ashley Padilla and Jane Wickline.
SNL Season 51 is set to premiere on Oct. 4.
