Support for LAist comes from
We Explain L.A.
Stay Connected

Share This

This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.

This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.

Arts and Entertainment

A Brief History Of Celebs Going To Get Fast Food After Awards Shows

We need to hear from you.
Today during our spring member drive, put a dollar value on the trustworthy reporting you rely on all year long. The local news you read here every day is crafted for you, but right now, we need your help to keep it going. In these uncertain times, your support is even more important. We can't hold those in power accountable and uplift voices from the community without your partnership. Thank you.

Aziz Ansari, known food-lover and two-time Emmy winner, stopped by at the L.A. institution known as In-N-Out last night with his Emmy in tow.

An Angeleno snapped him mid-order (unfortunately we can't hear Ansari's words, but my bet is on a double double animal style with well done fries, because we all know he's a classic man at heart) and busted the actor's cover, unwittingly placing Ansari in the pantheon of celebrities who eat fast food after an awards show. Let us walk these hallowed halls together and look back at the recent history of stars chowing down on burgers and fries.

Celebrating a win with In-N-Out makes sense. But, sometimes, fast food is most appropriate after an awards show gaffe. Aren't food and ambition filling the same spiritual void, anyway? Adele knows. Remember when she had those sound issues during her performance at the 2016 Grammys? It must have sucked to be her on that stage. She knew how to recover, though, and she let the whole world know.

Support for LAist comes from

Sam Smith is another noted In-N-Out fan (these Brits love a taste of Los Angeles), and he made an appearance after the 2014 American Music Awards.

Justin Timberlake, on the other hand, defied expectations and chose Taco Bell instead of In-N-Out after the 2014 People's Choice Awards, giving the staff photographic proof that they met JT himself.

Drew Barrymore went a little more local with a trip to Mulberry Pizza after the Golden Globes in 2014.

That same year, Kaley Cuoco decided to pre-game the Emmys with McDonald's. It's a much braver move to eat fast food before the awards have even started—what if she got ketchup on her dress??— and we commend her audacity.

But back to In-N-Out! Celebrity couple extraordinaire Jason Sudeikis and Olivia Wilde actually did drive-thru after the Oscars in 2014, so we know they were far more committed to the burgers than to any sort of photo-op.

Support for LAist comes from

At last year's Oscars, after winning the award for best actress for The Room, Brie Larson posted an Instagram of her chowing down on a burger from In-N-Out while clutching her Academy Award. Please note the Chuck Taylors as well.

A couple years prior, Ang Lee enjoyed the same meal but in a far more frantic manner. He was fresh off his best directing win for Life of Pi and it looks like the film's anthropomorphized tiger did nothing to dissuade Lee from chowing down on some meat.

Admittedly, Lee and Larson both ate burgers at Vanity Fair Oscars party, where they often have In 'N Out cater, so they hold a bit less mystique.

The OG burger-as-respite-from-high-profile-award-win was via Hilary Swank in 2005, after winning best actress for her role in Million Dollar Baby. Unfortunately, this moment happened pre-social media, so she did not post a photo of herself doing it. She was alone at the Astro Burger, not posturing to be a "Real Girl" or a "Real, Funny Boy" or a "I Am So Out Of Touch That I Can Only Use Fast Food To Relate To The Plebes"; rather, Swank was simply exhausted from a day of social demands and probably was super hungry from adjusting to a post-Million Dollar Baby shooting schedule and press tour.

This also means there is no public photo of the moment. US Weekly seems to have the only remaining proof online, besides this one tweet from the chain in 2010 reminiscing over their moment in the spotlight:

Most Read