Kathy Bates Shares a Fun Moment with Timothée Chalamet at the Critics Choice Awards

Kathy Bates at the 2026 Critics Choice Awards; Timothée Chalamet in Marty Supreme.
Credit:

E!; A24

Key Highlights

• Kathy Bates licked a ping pong paddle during the 2026 Critics Choice Awards, exclaiming, "That’s so gross. I can’t believe I did that!"
• Under her seat, Bates found a paddle, placed as a playful nod to Timothée Chalamet’s film Marty Supreme.
• Bates is nominated for Best Actress in a Drama Series for her role in Matlock, while Chalamet is in the running for Best Actor in Marty Supreme.

Kathy Bates showcased her sense of humor at the 2026 Critics Choice Awards held on January 4, where an unexpected interaction involving a ping pong paddle drew laughter from the audience. The 77-year-old actress held the paddle—similar to those featured in Timothée Chalamet’s film Marty Supreme—after host Chelsea Handler announced that a paddle had been hidden under an attendee’s seat.

Handler humorously suggested that the individual lucky enough to find the paddle could paddle Chalamet, emphasizing a memorable scene from the movie. "I heard that he didn’t want a butt double for those spankings in Marty Supreme, so to make things interesting for this evening, someone in this room has a ping pong paddle under their seat," Handler stated. "So everyone look and whoever has it gets to spank Timothée at the afterparty tonight."

As cameras turned to Bates, who was nominated for Best Actress in a Drama Series for her performance on Matlock, laughter erupted. In a playful moment, she licked the paddle and stated, "That’s so gross," while voicing disbelief at her own antics, declaring, "I can’t believe I did that!" Handler noted Bates’s unexpected win of the paddle from the stage, adding, "Kathy Bates, lucky you! Yes!"

Kathy Bates on January 4, 2026.

Tommaso Boddi/Getty

In the controversial scene from Marty Supreme, Kevin O’Leary, in his first acting role, portrays businessman Milton Rockwell, who punishes Chalamet’s character, Marty, for insults exchanged throughout the film. In a December interview with The Hollywood Reporter, O’Leary recounted that Chalamet insisted on performing the scene without a stunt double.

“That’s really Chalamet’s ass — he didn’t want the stunt double," O’Leary explained. "I said, ‘Timmy, I’m going to have to belt your ass, are you sure you want to do this?’ He immortalized his ass on film for the rest of time. That scene freaks me out even now."

Timothée Chalamet in Marty Supreme.

A24

Chalamet is nominated for Best Actor at the Critics Choice Awards for his role as Marty Mauser, a young table tennis champion, competing against Leonardo DiCaprio (One Battle After Another), Joel Edgerton (Train Dreams), Ethan Hawke (Blue Moon), Michael B. Jordan (Sinners), and Wagner Moura (The Secret Agent).

In the Best Actress category, Bates faces competition from Carrie Coon (The Gilded Age), Britt Lower (Severance), Bella Ramsey (The Last of Us), Keri Russell (The Diplomat), and Rhea Seehorn (Pluribus).