The stars were out in full force at the 2026 Emmy Awards for TV’s biggest night — but several celebrities were noticeably missing from the ceremony.
The 78th annual awards show was held live on Monday, September 14, at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, with Law & Order: Special Victims Unit‘s Mariska Hargitay hosting.
Apple TV was the most-awarded network this year, earning 29 wins overall — including Creative Emmys trophies from earlier this month — as their horror-comedy Widow’s Bay swept all major categories. Pluribus followed with wins for lead actress Rhea Seehorn and creator Vince Gilligan. Meanwhile, HBO Max saw success with The Pitt‘s numerous nominations and wins.
But while Monday was a night for celebration, some viewers couldn’t help but wonder why some stars were not in attendance. Keep scrolling to see who was a no-show — and the possible reasons for their absence:
Keke Palmer
Palmer was set to present the award for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series at the ceremony on Monday alongside Marcello Hernández. The Saturday Night Live star, however, presented the award to Widow’s Bay‘s Hiro Murai by himself. No reason has been given for Palmer’s absence.
The actress was active on social media to promote her upcoming interview with Octavia Spencer on her “Baby, This is Keke Palmer” podcast.
Taylor Swift
While Swift scored five nominations for her Eras Tour film, the categories were part of the Creative Emmys, which took place September 5 and 6. Swift wasn’t technically expected to attend Monday’s ceremony, but there were many fans who hoped she would find a way to appear — including Hargitay.
Luckily, Hargitay found a way to involve her friend by having Swift pop up in a Law & Order: SVU-inspired skit. The meta sketch featured Hargitay’s character, Olivia Benson, trying to connect the clues about whether Swift would appear at the awards ceremony.
Though she made a cameo in the prerecorded footage, Swift was at husband Travis Kelce‘s NFL game in Kansas City on Monday.
Conner Storrie
Storrie’s hit series Heated Rivalry was shut out of the Emmys due to it being a Canadian production. The actor, however, scored his first Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his SNL episode — a category that was presented during the Creative Arts Emmys.
The actor attended that ceremony with his mom, Linda Sorrie, but ultimately didn’t appear for the Primetime Emmys, nor did his costar Hudson Williams.
Jenna Ortega
Netflix’s hit series Wednesday earned six Emmy nominations, which were all called during the Creative Emmys. Ortega, who was filming season 3 earlier this year, ultimately didn’t make an appearance on Monday.
Jeremy Allen White
The 2026 Emmys marked the second time in a row that White was absent from the ceremony. It was also time in four years that he wasn’t nominated in the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series category for The Bear, which could explain his absence.
Benny Blanco
Selena Gomez was at the 2026 Emmys to celebrate her show Only Murders in the Building‘s nominations. Her husband, however, wasn’t by her side because he was at Harvard Business School promoting his new book, F*ck Failure.
Billy Crudup
Despite being nominated for his role in The Morning Show, Crudup was a no-show. He is currently in rehearsals for the West End revival of Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? beginning in London later this month.
