It’s never a challenge for Zendaya to get attention, especially on a red carpet or during an award show.
The Challengers star got plenty on Sunday night at the Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton where the veteran star celebrated a nomination for best performance by a female actor in a motion picture musical or comedy. Making her first showing at the Globes since 2016, Zendaya had quite the night.
After turning heads with a show stopping custom look by Louis Vuitton paired with Bulgari gems (as always styled by Law Roach), the 28-year-old Emmy Award winner made her way inside the Beverly Hilton ballroom where The Hollywood Reporter spotted her catching up with her Euphoria cast mate and good friend, Colman Domingo, a fellow Globes nominee for his work in Sing Sing. In another candid moment, she said hello to Adam Sandler before the first award was handed out.
Then once the show began, host Nikki Glaser wasted little time in turning her attention toward Zendaya and her work in Denis Villeneuve’s blockbuster franchise. “Zendaya, you were incredible in Dune,” Glaser said. “I woke up for all of your scenes, you were so good.”
Glaser turned up the spiciness for her next joke by maintaining focus. “Challengers, girl, it was so good. It was more sexually charged than Diddy’s credit card,” said the stand-up, referencing the scandal that currently has the music mogul behind bars at the the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn as he awaits trial after being accused of kidnapping, drugging and coercing women into sexual activities. He’s also the subject of more than 25 lawsuits related to accusations of sexual misconduct.
Zendaya’s name came up again in another joke just moments later when Glaser posed a question to Shrinking nominee Harrison Ford by asking if he would rather work with Zendaya or Ariana. “He said indica,” Glaser said, using his rumored affections for cannabis as the punchline.
Jokes aside, Zendaya, who arrived to the Globes with her best friend and assistant Darnell Appling, was pictured inside the ballroom sharing a table with Andrew Scott while her Challengers director posed in front of it with his CAA agent Bryan Lourd. But even with a BFF on her arm, she sparked engagement rumors with beau Tom Holland by wearing a diamond sparkler on her ring finger.
That attention continued throughout the telecast as more candid clips surfaced featuring Zendaya in a new ensemble as she chatted it up with Ayo Edebiri during a commercial break. It wasn’t long after that moment that her category was announced, and while the trophy ended up going to The Substance star Demi Moore, Zendaya was seen giving the veteran actress a huge applause and shout out for the win.
More to come.
