The 2025 Webby Awards theme may have been “All Good,” as the annual ceremony celebrated the best of the internet from the past year, but host Ilana Glazer wasn’t shy about going after politics or the more problematic elements of technology.
Glazer kicked off the evening by joking that the “All Good” theme was selected because an alternative like “‘The Broligarchy’s Speeding of the Onslaught of Facism in the Face of the Climate Catastrophe at the Point of No Return’ would have bummed everybody out.”
As she continued her monologue, Glazer spoke about the continued uncertainty around the fate of TikTok and joked that Signal is the app that should truly be banned.
“TikTok and the Trump administration were the Ross and Rachel of social media — a real will they, won’t they,” Glazer joked. “They banned it and then they quickly brought it back. Now they’re talking about banning it again. Make a decision already. There are women out there who need people to get ready with them. If we’re going to ban anything, ban Signal. No one’s ever making war plans on TikTok. The closest thing to war plans on TikTok is a skinny bitch doing a ‘what I eat in a day.’ Pete Hegseth really did use Signal to coordinate war plans and then accidentally included a journalist on the group chat. Signal is for organizing protests and ordering drugs. Maybe that’s what he was trying to do? Maybe ‘bombs’ is his dealer’s code word for cocaine?”
Earlier on the Webby Awards‘ red carpet, Glazer previewed to The Hollywood Reporter that she did indeed plan to address the current political climate during her time onstage.
“I definitely will be touching on the onslaught of fascism several times,” Glazer said ahead of the New York event. “That’s really all I have to say. I’m not really concerned with individuals or naming names. I want to name the system that is endangering us all and uplift the people who are working to resist it.”
But Glazer was also happy to celebrate the “creative people leading the culture who are actively making good on the internet,” as she said during her monologue.
Earlier, she teased that as host, she was hoping to “create a space where everyone feels included and excited to celebrate themselves.”
When Glazer was announced as this year’s host, the Webby Awards noted that her five-season Comedy Central show Broad City began as a web series. And she told THR that she still sees online platforms as places for creative freedom.
“The internet is a place where creatives and artists can put things out into the world without waiting for someone to tell them yes or no,” Glazer said. “I still feel that way about putting things out.”
Honoree Amelia Dimoldenberg, who received a special achievement prize, used her five-word acceptance speech, a Webby Awards hallmark, to encourage others to take advantage of the ingenuity provided by digital platforms.
“Don’t wait. Make it yourself,” Dimoldenberg said, accepting her Webby from Hot Ones‘ Sean Evans, who has also reconceived the format of the celebrity interview online.
Earlier, Dimoldenberg, who, in addition to her Chicken Shop Date web series, has been interviewing people for the Oscars and other Film Academy events, told THR that she was especially appreciative of the Webbys recognizing digital content.
“Sometimes I feel like as people who make videos online, it’s not taken seriously and I think it’s amazing that an award like this exists to credit all of the hard work that we do,” she said.
As for coming up with her five-word speech, Dimoldenberg said it was “quite easy” compared to the bridesmaid speech she has been working on for her best friend, which she said is “so much more difficult.”
In addition to Dimoldenberg, this year’s honorees included Snoop Dogg, whose speech was “Break bread or fake dead,” Walton Goggins (speech: “If it happens, be grateful”) and Rep. Jasmine Crockett (speech: “Only organized outrage overcomes oppression”).
This year was the first Webby Awards for both a new group of creator categories and recently appointed executive director Jesse Feister.
“What I love most about the internet is that it gives talented, self made, creative people a way in. And tonight’s winners are proof of that,” Feister said in part during his remarks onstage.
Noteworthy winners this year included Rihanna, Taylor Swift, Kendrick Lamar, Selena Gomez, Gracie Abrams, Keke Palmer, Jimmy Fallon, Taika Waititi, Simone Biles and Andrew McCarthy‘s Brats documentary, in which he reunites with his fellow Brat Pack members Emilio Estevez, Demi Moore, Ally Sheedy and Rob Lowe.
McCarthy, who declared “Long live the Brat Pack” onstage, told THR he was happy both to be recognized (“whenever anybody’s nice to you, it’s nice”) and to see the ’80s reunions continue with the cast of The Breakfast Club gathering in Chicago recently.
“It’s fantastic,” he said. “I think it’s been a long road, the relationship that people had with that early success, so it’s nice for everyone to come around and realize for a certain generation there’s so much goodwill back.”
