The Bear star Ayo Edebiri has gone viral once again following her appearance at the 2024 Emmy Awards.
The 28-year-old is no stranger to a viral moment on a red carpet, and was the subject of two hilarious clips from the Emmys on Sunday night.
While walking the red carpet at the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards, which took place at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, the actress ran into country music legend Reba McEntire.
Ayo Edebiri fangirls over Reba at the #EMMYs. pic.twitter.com/HKYme85UTg
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) September 16, 2024
A video of the moment quickly went viral on social media, as the footage showing a visibly stunned Ayo meeting Reba for the first time as she repeatedly exclaimed: “Oh, my God!”
Fans were charmed by Ayo’s reaction, and one commented on X: “Totally real and valid reaction to meeting Reba because same.”
Ayo’s second viral moment occurred during the actual ceremony, as her The Bear co-star Ebon Moss-Bachrach won the award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.
Ayo Edebiri reacts to her dad shaking Ebon Moss-Bachrach’s hand at the #EMMYs
pic.twitter.com/FXg2oFbMXZ— Film Updates (@FilmUpdates) September 16, 2024
As the 47-year-old got up to accept the award, Ayo’s father reached across her to shake Ebon’s hand.
Viewers were in hysterics over Ayo’s reaction to her dad getting involved, as she looked at him in shock and said: “Ok!”
The actress has gained a legion of fans since she shot to fame as Sydney in The Bear, and won praise last year for leaning into a long-running internet joke that she is Irish.
The joke began when she spoke in an Irish accent during an interview with Letterboxd in March 2023.
ayo edebiri method acted so hard she literally turned into jenny the donkey pic.twitter.com/tKo8dZEh6i
— Cris ✨ (@lionesspike) March 22, 2023
During their chat, Ayo joked that she played Jenny the Donkey in the Oscar-nominated Irish film The Banshees of Inisherin, and spent four months in Ireland to get into character.
“I was on all fours for four months, and it was really painful but beautiful as well, and it was probably the most fulfilling part of my career,” she said.
Ayo expressed her delight over the film’s success at the Oscars, but joked that she “deserved a nomination more than anybody else because I was obviously a donkey for four months.”
Ayo’s claim to being Irish quickly grew legs, and she referenced the joke on numerous occasions during awards season.
When she won a Critics Choice Award for The Bear earlier this year, the actress thanked her family in Boston, Nigeria, Barbados, before she gave a nod to “Ireland, in many ways” – which was met by cheers from the audience.
