{"id":875786,"date":"2026-06-18T11:57:24","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T11:57:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/875786\/"},"modified":"2026-06-18T11:57:24","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T11:57:24","slug":"las-culturistas-culture-awards-6-best-moments-from-the-show","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/875786\/","title":{"rendered":"Las Culturistas Culture Awards: 6 best moments from the show"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Best new artist. Best vibes, hands down. Eva Longoria Award for Tiny Human, Huge Impact. <\/p>\n

These were just a few of the categories presented at the 2026 Las Culturistas Culture Awards, which aired on Bravo and streamed Wednesday on Peacock and were held at the United Theater in L.A. last month. The show, co-hosted by Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers of the \u201cLas Culturistas\u201d podcast, honored some of the best moments in pop culture \u2014 and created some of its own, including a gay-tastic opening musical number performed by Yang and Rogers that paid homage to \u201cHeated Rivalry\u201d and a sexed-up Shrek \u2014 yes, your favorite green ogre \u2014 courtesy of \u201cHacks\u201d co-creator and star Paul W. Downs. <\/p>\n

Needless to say, it\u2019s not your typical awards show. And winning isn\u2019t the point, as Yang and Rogers told The Times earlier this month<\/a>. \u201cPresenting is just as good as winning, just as good as performing. But I think it\u2019s weird that we have been so late to stumble on what the show really is, which is it\u2019s a variety show,\u201d Rogers said.<\/p>\n

For anyone happy to take themselves a little less seriously, have some fun and potentially get a Cultch, as the golden statue is called (what is it exactly, we\u2019re not really sure \u2014 RuPaul said he\u2019d use it as a door stop), this awards show is for you. Here are some of our favorite moments from the show, which might be the best awards show on TV.<\/p>\n

Music and dance performances by the co-hosts, Rachel Zegler and \u2026 Pikachu? \"A <\/p>\n

Rachel Zegler performs Addison Rae\u2019s \u201cFame Is a Gun.\u201d<\/p>\n

(Monty Brinton \/ Bravo)<\/p>\n

The show began with a rousing number featuring Yang and Rogers that was themed to one of the biggest TV shows of the past year, \u201cHeated Rivalry<\/a>.\u201d It led into a performance of t.A.T.u.\u2019s \u201cAll the Things She Said,\u201d a record of the year nominee and the song that became a hit (again) thanks to a sexy club scene in the hockey-themed gay romance series, and it included vocals from another pair of gay icons, Malin Akerman and Brittany Snow of \u201cThe Hunting Wives.\u201d <\/p>\n

And yes, Rogers and Yang did attempt to enlist \u201cHeated Rivalry\u201d stars Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams, but the duo were out of town attending the 2026 Canadian Screen Awards, where the show broke records for most wins in a single year. But Akerman and Snow brought as much power to the moment, Yang said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat somehow felt like just as if not more important, to have those things live side by side,\u201d he told us after the show. \u201cWe did our best to crudely represent this moment of \u2018Heated Rivalry\u2019 within the song, within us being a white gay man and an Asian gay man. And then bring Malin and Brittany in, to have these two be like companion pieces in the culture in the past year.\u201d<\/p>\n

But that was just the beginning. The show also featured performances by \u201cHacks\u201d star Megan Stalter, who performed her single \u201cPrettiest Girl in America<\/a>,\u201d and Mandy Moore, who sang \u201cOnly Hope,\u201d her cover of the Switchfoot song. However, there were two performances that stole the show: Rachel Zegler\u2019s \u201cEvita\u201d-inspired rendition of Addison Rae\u2019s \u201cFame Is a Gun<\/a>\u201d and Yang and Rogers\u2019 performance of the Pok\u00e9mon theme song. One was an awe-inspiring and vocally perfect rendition of a pop song, the other a millennial dreamscape of Pok\u00e9mon ephemera featuring the star of the animated show, Pikachu, dancing alongside Yang and Rogers as they sang the number. (Pikachu\u2019s pronouns are it\/that, according to Yang and Rogers, in case you were wondering.) <\/p>\n

Zegler\u2019s performance, Rogers said, was not only an early idea for the show, but one that felt meaningful despite the camp. The actor played the titular character in the West End revival of \u201cEvita\u201d and will reprise the role on Broadway next year.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe only idea I had right away last year was I knew I wanted Rachel \u2014 and I told you this [turns to Yang] \u2014 in the style of Evita singing something,\u201d he said. \u201cThen we were at Coachella watching Addison Rae and she was doing \u2018Fame Is a Gun\u2019 and we were like, \u2018It has to be this.\u2019 We pitched it to Rachel, and she goes, \u2018You\u2019re not gonna believe this, but \u2018Fame Is a Gun\u2019 was No. 1 on my playlist when I was studying to play Eva Peron.\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n

It was kismet.<\/p>\n

Miss Piggy, cat marionettes and a very ripped Shrek \"A <\/p>\n

Miss Piggy, honored for her excellence in divahood, was among the childhood characters that made an appearance at the show.<\/p>\n

(Monty Brinton \/ Bravo)<\/p>\n

Pikachu wasn\u2019t the only childhood character to make an appearance at the Culture Awards. The \u201cgrand dame diva of culture, divahood and porcine glamour\u201d Miss Piggy, was honored at the show, where she showed up, naturally, in a pink dress and feather boa.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s one of the most beloved pop culture figures of all time,\u201d Yang said about her surprise appearance.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s indisputable,\u201d Rogers added.<\/p>\n

We also got a performance of the \u201cMeow-ionettes,\u201d the feline troupe from the Bob Baker Marionettes<\/a>, an L.A. institution, who accompanied Broadway star Ben Platt as he sang \u201cSmelly Cat,\u201d the song made famous by Lisa Kudrow\u2019s Phoebe Buffay on \u201cFriends.\u201d (It was a lead-in to her receiving the lifetime of culture award.)<\/p>\n

While those characters mostly stayed in, well, character, one appeared in a completely new light: Shrek. So you might remember Shrek as a big, green ogre, and while this Shrek was green, he was also extremely ripped and libidinous. Downs appeared as Shrek onstage to accept the award for the Shrek Award for Top Thing We Want to Do to That Green Guy, a category with very explicit nominees. Hints of a Shrek surprise appeared early on, when Miss Culturista Patti Harrison revealed she was pregnant, showing her sonogram with a green, Shrek-like fetus. It ended in Harrison telling Downs\u2019 Shrek that it was his baby and they walked off the stage as a family. That\u2019s one way to get a happily ever after.<\/p>\n

\u2018War is Bravo for men\u2019 \"Two <\/p>\n

Ziwe, left, looks on as Ciara Miller of \u201cSummer House\u201d accepts the trophy for the Rob Rausch Award for Excellence.<\/p>\n

(Griffin Nagel \/ Bravo)<\/p>\n

Who can actually enjoy escapist entertainment when every other day brings news alerts that trigger mental anguish? Bowen and Rogers acknowledged the dueling emotions at the start of the show by cheekily breaking down important current events for two camps: the people who don\u2019t watch Bravo at all, and those who only watch Bravo. For the Bravo-agnostics, the hosts summarized the \u201cSummer House\u201d cheating scandal<\/a>; meanwhile, Bravo obsessives were informed by Rogers: \u201cOur country is at war.\u201d <\/p>\n

It prompted Yang to make the joke about one of the rules of culture: \u201cWar is Bravo for men.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOur show is trying to remind people that there\u2019s a lot of fun and joy to be had,\u201d Rogers told us. \u201cWe\u2019re not dwelling, but also it would be unlike us and dishonest to ignore [what\u2019s going on in the world]. It\u2019s not a denial of the fact that we\u2019re in this place, it\u2019s an acknowledgment \u2014 but also an acknowledgment of everything else. It\u2019s a night to say, we feel good.\u201d<\/p>\n

(Another rule of culture, in case you\u2019re wondering? \u201cPeacock is Netflix for the Olympics.\u201d)<\/p>\n

Imitation is flattery, honey! \"A <\/p>\n

Nominees for outfit of the year at this year\u2019s Las Culturistas Culture Awards were re-created and modeled on stage by Lisa Rinna, seen here in a look made famous by horror villain Aunt Gladys in \u201cWeapons.\u201d<\/p>\n

(Monty Brinton \/ Bravo)<\/p>\n

Lisa Rinna<\/a> knows how to gag an audience with her fashions \u2014 whether she\u2019s peddling cozy duster cardigans on QVC or dressing in outr\u00e9 sets by conceptual designers like Jean Paul Gaultier, Christian Cowan or Maximilian Raynor. And she brought that dedication to Las Culturistas Culture Awards for the second consecutive year. She had attendees roaring with stunning transformations as she modeled the nominees for outfit of the year, which included her take on the extremely terrifying look of Aunt Gladys of \u201cWeapons\u201d (complete with an offset-styled wig, large vintage sunglasses and smeared lipstick); Jacob Elordi leaving an airport while wearing headphones, sunglasses and a stone-faced expression; Carolyn Bessette\u2019s \u201cargument chic\u201d attire \u2014 oversized sweaters, a ponytail wig and white sneakers \u2014 during the much-publicized spat with John F. Kennedy Jr. in Battery Park; Billie Eilish as a visibly overwhelmed \u201cOne Less Lonely Girl\u201d at Coachella<\/a>, donning a black and purple track suit ensemble; and Jeff Probst for the last 50 seasons of \u201cSurvivor<\/a>,\u201d which boiled down to a blue button-up shirt and khakis (he won).<\/p>\n

\u201cShe is so down to clown,\u201d Rogers told us after the show. \u201cAnd I truly mean clown because what she\u2019s doing is clowning.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yang added: \u201cShe\u2019s such a seasoned actor, performer. She knows entertainment. And she looked as hot as Jacob Elordi.\u201d Rogers confessed he missed Rinna\u2019s heightened turn as Bessette because he and Yang were talking to Lisa Kudrow backstage. But they at least got to witness a pop culture collision take place.<\/p>\n

\u201cLisa Kudrow clocked who was on stage and she goes, \u2018Oh my god, it\u2019s Lisa F\u2014ing Rinna?\u2019\u201d Yang recalled. \u201cI was like, \u2018This is heaven.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Rogers added: \u201cLisa Rinna as Carolyn Bessette comes off the stage and Lisa Kudrow turns to her and says, \u2018We\u2019ve known each other since our kids were 2!\u2019\u201d Rogers recalled. \u201cAnd Lisa Rinna was like, \u2018Yes, we have!\u2019 We were just watching this interaction between the Lisas.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nods to Pride: Gay icons and allies \"Six <\/p>\n

\u201cThe Hunting Wives\u201d stars Brittany Snow and Malin Akerman, center, join Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers during the \u201cHeated Rivalry\u201d-inspired opening number.<\/p>\n

(Griffin Nagel \/ Bravo)<\/p>\n

The Culture Awards are not just inclusive, they\u2019re unapologetically gay, from the categories to the nominees to the presenters. June is Pride Month after all, and we\u2019d be remiss if we didn\u2019t mention the timeliness of this show \u2014 hosted by a pair of gay men \u2014 and the awards bestowed upon LGBTQ+ icons and allies over the course of the night. <\/p>\n

Among the winners this year were Hannah Einbinder<\/a> for the all good either way award for bisexuality in media, RuPaul for the artist of the millennium award and Will Ferrell, who was awarded the titan of culture award. Upon accepting his award, he unfurled a Pride flag and declared that \u201cgay pride is the most important thing to me.\u201d Is Ferrell gay? No, but allies are always welcome. After all, he is Yang\u2019s and Rogers\u2019 boss.<\/p>\n

\u2018And the award for best sauce goes to …\u2019 \"A <\/p>\n

\u201cHacks\u201d co-creator and star Paul W. Downs appears on stage as a ripped Shrek during this year\u2019s Las Culturistas Culture Awards.<\/p>\n

(Monty Brinton \/ Bravo)<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s show was stuffed with a whopping 100 categories \u2014 and still, the ceremony managed to not be three hours-plus (take note, Oscars). It\u2019s the only place where you can revel in the tight races of categories like most triggered, activated and dysregulated I was this year; best Disney hotel for intercourse, sex, or lovemaking; or best part of \u201cWHERE IS MY HUSBAND!<\/a>\u201d song. About 30 previous categories returned, including the Allison Williams Cool Girl Award, which was given to \u201cSummer House\u2019s\u201d Ciara Miller, who continues riding high following her messy and highly publicized breakup.<\/p>\n

Maira\u2019s favorite category: <\/b>Record of the year would take the cake for me in terms of the showstopping performances, but in terms of category originality, I\u2019ll have to go with the Fantasia Barrino Award for Vocal Oomph, which was presented by comedian Julio Torres, and went to the Bene Gesserit of \u201cDune.\u201d I\u2019m not even a \u201cDune\u201d person, but I can appreciate the effort. Of the nominees, Charlotte screaming \u201cNO!!!\u201d at Mr. Big was my winner.<\/p>\n

Yvonne\u2019s favorite category: <\/b>The Shrek Award for Top Thing We Want to Do to That Green Guy. Among the nominees is: \u201cI get as close as possible to his lips without kissing him at a restaurant in public. Maximum romance, with everyone watching. He smells like onions.\u201d The other contenders are NSFW, unfortunately, but that\u2019s exactly what makes it so perfectly ridiculous. And to top it all off with Downs, and his insanely cut abs, slathered in green paint to accept the award as Shrek (while being revealed to be a baby daddy) elicited the sort of gasps last felt when \u201cLa La Land\u201d was mistakenly awarded the best picture Oscar in 2017.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Best new artist. Best vibes, hands down. Eva Longoria Award for Tiny Human, Huge Impact. These were just…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":875787,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5123],"tags":[23781,9056,1582,276,75849,392,191743,2961,76093,13940,18455,224,5337,69820,18281,4370,66409,19514,33758,355948],"class_list":["post-875786","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-award","tag-bravo","tag-ca","tag-california","tag-category","tag-culture","tag-heated-rivalry","tag-la","tag-las-culturistas-culture-awards","tag-last-year","tag-lisa-kudrow","tag-los-angeles","tag-losangeles","tag-matt-rogers","tag-performance","tag-show","tag-shrek","tag-song","tag-yang","tag-year-nominee"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116770993338293481","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/875786","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=875786"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/875786\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/875787"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=875786"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=875786"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=875786"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}