Early into the People’s Choice Awards, it’s clear the ceremony has an uncanny vibe. Winners have been easy to guess, as those happen to be the only nominees in attendance—notably Billie Eilish, who won Best TV Performance for her role in Hulu’s Swarm, and Tom Hiddleston accepting the Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy award for Disney Plus’ Loki.
But even Adam Sandler, honored this year with the People’s Icon award, felt the lack of sincerity.
Frequent co-star and former People’s Icon winner Jennifer Aniston announced the award, noting that he recently received the more prestigious Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. As Sandler accepted the award he hinted at an obvious fact: No one really wants to be there.
“I know you don’t like doing stuff like this,” he said to Aniston, before unfolding his written speech. He then joked that he thought he’d won People Magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive award.
“This is gonna be a little humiliating,” he said, before delving into his lengthy speech to accept the award for being the hottest man alive. “…’Cause they said I gotta talk a few minutes.”
Sandler then donned a voice reminiscent of his goofiest characters á la Billy Madison or Happy Gilmore.
“Hello ladies and gentlemen, my name is Adam Sandler,” he grovels. “And I am the sexiest man alive! Can I get a hell yeah?”
Raunchy references colored his speech. “About freaking time. For decades, Adam Sandler has been waiting patiently on the sexy bench, legs wide open,” he says.
The actor eventually gave up his act to give some real thanks to his collaborators, his family, and of course—the people. However, some viewers would like to recount the PCA ballots to ensure the show isn’t just a marketing stunt.
As one Reddit user wrote, “This is the strangest awards show ever. It feels like no one wants to be there.”
And another replied, “I don’t want to be here.”
This year’s awards are presented by NBC and streaming on Peacock, and it also happens to be the first year NBC did not present the much-maligned Golden Globe Awards.
@dailydot Adam Sandler couldn't take his People's Choice acceptance speech for his Icon Award, so he pretended it was for People's Sexiest Man Alive. #PeoplesChoice #AdamSandler #TV #Icon ♬ original sound – The Daily Dot
As viewers in the Pop Culture Chat subreddit pointed out, the show is also airing on the same evening as the BAFTAs.
“Why would you have the Peoples Choice Awards on the same day as the BAFTAS?” one asked. “Like literally every single important movie star from the year is in England.”
