Just hours after news broke that the U.S. deal for TikTok is officially happening and will close next month, the social media giant hosted its first U.S. awards show in Hollywood — to rocky results.
The event streamed live on TikTok and on Tubi while also taking over the Hollywood Palladium on Thursday night, handing out 14 awards to top creators in a show hosted by La La Anthony. After a two-hour red carpet, though, the ceremony started an hour late, as TikTok execs Kim Farrell and Marisa Hammonds came out to tell the crowd — comprised mostly of influencers and reality stars — that the room was so powerful that “you blew out out screens,” meaning zero of the five large screens behind the stage would be working.
Despite the screens flickering on briefly here and there, that meant throughout the night none of the nominee clips or prepared video packages were visible in the room, with only audio working. Anthony at one point suggested to guests that “if you want to see the full experience with the nominees, feel free to watch them on your second screen,” as the videos were showing up normally on TikTok and Tubi and could be watched on one’s phone inside the room. Mr. Fantasy (who fans suspect is actor KJ Apa’s alter ego) also teased about the issue during his time on stage, ranting, “The screens aren’t working and I find that to be really funny, do you know what I mean?”
Nevertheless, the social platform put its own spin on the classic awards show formula, running at a much tighter 105 minutes with a more casual dress code and endless areas for selfies and content creation. A big song-and-dance number about this year’s viral moments opened the show, and creator Ashby popped up throughout the night for audience bits — including when she manned a Labubu cannon that launched the in-demand collectibles into the crowd. The event also opted out of music playing off any winners giving overly long acceptance speeches and didn’t use seat fillers, which left large sections of the Palladium empty by the last portion of the show.
Trixie Mattel, Rei Ami, Tan France, Josh Richards, Patrick Starrr, Jordan Chiles, Tefi Pessoa and Kelsey Anderson were among the night’s presenters, and Paris Hilton pulled double duty as both a winner and a presenter. She took home the Muse of the Year Award, saying in her speech, “A muse doesn’t follow trends, we help create them. We slive. We turn imagination into reality; we remind people that creativity should be fun, fearless and a little bit magical… TikTok has become a place where we can turn our passion into movements, trends into legacies and moments into magic.”
She then returned to present Creator of the Year, teasing it made sense she was presenting that category as “some people would say I created the blueprint of creators — and by some people, I mean everyone.” She gave the award to food influencer extraordinaire Keith Lee, who took the stage to fans chanting his name and remembered, “When we first started, I was cooking for my wife when she was pregnant. I now have my first boy and I can tell him that his dad is something to be proud of.”
The night also featured a performance from Ciara — serving up a medley of her hits — and the announcement that in Lee’s honor, TikTok is contributing a $50k donation to Feeding America. Confetti rained down to close out the celebration, with Carl’s Jr. offering afterparty eats outside.
Check out the full list of winners below:
Creator of the Year: @keith_lee125
Video of the Year: @bretmanrock (VIDEO)
Rising Star of the Year (sponsored by e.l.f. Cosmetics): @findjeremiah
Breakthrough Artist of the Year: @alexwarren
Storyteller of the Year: @tinekeyounger
Muse of the Year: @parishilton
TikTok for Good Award:@valentinebrothers
My Show is On Award [Film & TV]: @dayanechrissel
MVP of the Year [Sports]: @mariahcrose
Okay Slay Award [Fashion/Beauty]: @katiefanggg
I Was Today Years Old Award (sponsored by H&R Block): @lawbymike
Immediately Added to Cart Award (presented by TikTok Shop): @klothesminded
CapCut Creator of the Year: @recider
TikTok Live Creator of the Year: @eliesparzaa
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