Comedian Robby Hoffman took the stage Thursday night for the 2025 TV-focused IndieWire Honors, which honored the best of television’s current season by giving awards to “Matlock” star Kathy Bates, “Forever” creator Mara Brock Akil, and “Severance” directors Ben Stiller and Jessica Lee Gagné, among others. In keeping with the comic and “Hacks” breakout’s penchant for relentless, sometimes uncomfortable comedy, Hoffman walked the line between celebrating and skewering the ceremony in a hilarious monologue.
“I think we’re running out of ways to self-congratulate,” Hoffman said as she opened the evening at NeueHouse in Los Angeles, adding that she was a fan of IndieWire because “they wrote a pretty good article about me.” Hoffman dressed informally for the upscale event, joking, “I would have worn a suit but I didn’t want to look like a lesbian. Now nobody can tell, which is excellent.”
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Hoffman added that the audience was in safe hands as she compared herself to another queer comedian, Ellen DeGeneres. “Everyone knows I am opposite Ellen,” Hoffman said. “Ellen purports to be kind and nice, but she’s actually a terror to work with. I, on the other hand, am a little aggressive. I’m a little rough around the edges. But I’m actually a fucking delight.”
Hoffman went on to poke fun at the very idea of awards shows, all while complaining — in a running joke that continued throughout the evening — about not being paid for her hosting duties. “We’re really here to talk about you, the historically unappreciated, underserviced world of Hollywood,” she said. “It is interesting to be asked to do this for free … in an industry screaming about the value of women, paying one for her work seems to have gotten lost in translation.”
Hoffman poked fun at many of the honorees, referring to Stiller’s status as a “nepo baby” and calling out other filmmakers for their privileged upbringings, adding that she fully realized “I’m never coming back to this. I will never be invited back. This is the first and the last.” She added that for all her jabs, she couldn’t really say she was any different from the targets of her comedy. “ The truth is I’m not in any position to complain at all, because I can’t actually say that I’ve worked harder than everybody in this room. But I will say my brother Shmueli has,” she said. “He’s a construction worker in Northern Canada and he definitely works harder than everybody here.”
In between jokes throughout the night, Hoffman did pay sincere tribute to several of the honorees, such as “Adolescence” star Owen Cooper, whose work she said was deserving of every award it could receive. “ Let’s just remember, we’re here to have fun and ultimately to celebrate 13 incredible people committed to original storytelling,” Hoffman said as she wrapped up her opening monologue. “Feel free to be offended by anything I say, but the joke’s on you. As I already told you, I’m not being paid.”
Watch Hoffman’s full speech above, and check out all of our IndieWire Honors coverage right here.
The IndieWire Honors event took place at NeueHouse in Hollywood on Thursday, June 5. Other honorees for the evening included Ben Stiller, Colin Farrell, Owen Cooper, Julianne Nicholson, Kathy Bates, and more.
