Ayo Edebiri ‘absolutely freaked out’ over Reba McEntire at the 2024 Emmys
‘Totally real and valid reaction to meeting Reba because same,’ says fan
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Kelly Rissman
US News Reporter
Ayo Edebiri completely fangirled over Reba McEntire at the 2024 Emmys.
While walking the red carpet at the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards, which took place on Sunday at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, the 28-year-old The Bear star ran into country music legend Reba McEntire ahead of the awards ceremony. A video of the moment went viral on social media, with the footage showing a visibly stunned Edebiri meeting the country superstar for the first time. The Emmy winner then repeatedly exclaimed: “Oh, my God!”
Many people took to X, formerly Twitter, to comment on Edibiri’s adorable reaction.
“Totally real and valid reaction to meeting Reba because same,” one user wrote.
“Love her ability to express [and] put words together,” another added. “Very demure, cutesy, and accurate.”
Someone else commented: “Reba deserves her flowers.”
Speaking to E! News on the red carpet ahead of the awards show, Edebiri admitted to red carpet co-host Laverne Cox that she “absolutely freaked out” over meeting the Reba star.
“I’m really, really am proud of myself for not singing the entire theme song,” she said, referencing the famous theme song “I’m A Survivor” from McEntire’s eponymous sitcom.
“A single mom that works too hard, who loves her kids and never stops!” Edebiri added. “Hey, I’m a survivor, okay?”
The ceremony marked Edebiri‘s second Emmy Awards show of the year. In January, she won big after taking home Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for the first season of The Bear.
“This is a show about found family and real family, and my parents are here tonight,” she said in her January acceptance speech. “I’m making them sit kind of far away from me because I’m a bad kid. But I love you so much. Thank you so much for loving me and letting me feel beautiful and Black and proud of all of that. I just love you so much.”
Last July, Edebiri was once again nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for The Bear. However, Hacks star Jean Smart ultimately took home the award on Sunday, September 15. Meanwhile, McEntire and her former Reba co-star, Melissa Peterman, served as presenters during the 2024 Emmys.
“I’m a little bit nervous,” Peterman said on-stage, alongside McEntire. “Yeah, I’ve never done this before. And I’ve watched the Emmys, and a lot can go wrong.”
She added: “We memorized everything — even the nominees.”
Peterman then challenged McEntire to join her in proving that they had memorized the nominees in the Outstanding Scripted Variety Series category, ordering her to keep her eyes shut. The pair pretended to peek as they read both nominees in the category, Saturday Night Live and Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, ultimately presenting the trophy to Oliver.
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