Wendi McLendon-Covey Reveals Why She Missed the ‘Bridesmaids’ Oscars 2026 Reunion
Wendi McLendon-Covey is holding on for one more day.
After the Bridesmaids actress missed out on a reunion with costars Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Rose Byrne, Melissa McCarthy and Ellie Kemper at the 2026 Oscars—hosted by Conan O’Brien at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood March 15—she clarified why she missed the hilarious moment.
“I had a neck lift last week because I’m tired of looking like a melting candle,” Wendi wrote on Instagram alongside a selfie in bed with a stretch band wrapped around her head. “So I had to skip the Academy Awards.”
And to quash any rumors of bad beef among the cast, the 56-year-old added, “No drama. Everything is fine.”
Though Wendi had to skip the reunion, the rest of her stone-cold pack of weirdos had a blast sharing the stage together.
“We are so happy to all be here together tonight,” Kristen said from stage. “I cannot believe that it’s been 15 years now. We are not good with numbers, but we figured it out backstage. That means we shot this movie in 1883.”
Before they presented Ludwig Göransson the Oscar for Best Original Score, the ladies read notes that seemed to be from members of the audience.
“‘Rose, can you please stop looking at me?’” the If I Had Legs I’d Kick You star read in a supposed message from fellow Oscar nominee Leonardo DiCaprio. “‘The eye contact is too much. I’m thinking of leaving. I’m very uncomfortable.’”
Meanwhile, Maya—whose husband Paul Thomas Anderson won three Oscars, including for Best Director and Best Picture—received her own note.
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“Well, mine says, ‘First of all, you ladies look extremely beautiful tonight,'” she said. “That’s nice. Aw, thank you. ‘You’re all aging well.’ Signed Stellan Skarsgård.”
Beyond the Bridesmaids reunion, many of the night’s most iconic moments happened behind-the-scenes. Read on to check out everything you didn’t see on TV.
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Ryan Coogler & Paul Thomas Anderson
At this point in the night, the Sinners and One Battle After Another directors were just a couple of auteurs clutching their first-ever Oscars, Coogler for Best Original Screenplay and PTA for Best Adapted Screenplay.
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Kylie Jenner & Timothée Chalamet
Jenner is officially a regular, accompanying Best Actor nominee Chalamet to the Oscars for the second year in a row.
And the Kylie Cosmetics mogul was excited to see Sentimental Value star Elle Fanning, her boyfriend’s A Complete Unknown costar from his 2025 award season run and a nominee this year for Best Supporting Actress.
Fanning later gave Chalamet a consolatory pat on the back after Michael B. Jordan reigned supreme in the Best Actor race.
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Teyana Taylor & Cassandra Kulukundis
While fellow attendees started ripping into their Conan O’Brien-sanctioned snacks, Taylor celebrated One Battle After Another‘s casting director for winning the first-ever Oscar for Best Casting.
Once again, the returning host left a note with the box of treats, this time reading, “I hope you enjoy this Conan O’Brien ‘Moderately Happy Meal’ ™. These snacks may not look like much but in any movie theater they would run you $85.”
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Jacob Elordi
The Frankenstein star, a first-time Oscar nominee in the Best Supporting Actor category, made the rounds in between awards.
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Stellan Skarsgård
Losing the Best Supporting Actor Oscar to Sean Penn didn’t dampen the Sentimental Value star’s spirits.
Enjoying a drink in a VIP area afterward, Skarsgård told a well-wisher, per the Los Angeles Times, “We had four actor nominations on an international film. That’s never happened before.”
Not to mention, the Joaquim Trier-directed Norwegian film was named Best International Feature.
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Pedro Pascal & Sigourney Weaver
Weaver’s trying and failing not to burst out laughing before the duo headed out to present Best Production Design (to Frankenstein) and Best Visual Effects (to Avatar: Fire & Ash).
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Chase Infiniti & Paul Thomas Anderson
After making her acting debut in One Battle After Another, Infiniti couldn’t have been more thrilled over how the night was going.
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Winners for Best Original Song
Mark Sonnenblick tried to keep the commercial break at bay, to no avail, when one of his fellow songwriters was cut off mid-sentence while accepting “Golden’s” historic when for Best Original Song.
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Demi Moore & Mikey Madison
Madison may have come out ahead in the Best Actress race last year, but they still enjoyed a reunion of substance.
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Pauline Chalamet & Timothée Chalamet
There was plenty of room for family in the Marty Supreme row, Chalamet’s sister joining him and Jenner for a night out.
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Rachel McAdams & Sterling K. Brown
This is not us, but rather two actors having a moment near the makeup chair backstage at the Academy Awards. No need to send help.
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Nicole Kidman
The 2003 Best Actress winner didn’t mind whiling away a few more of the hours at the 2026 Oscars.
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Michael B. Jordan & Leonardo DiCaprio
DiCaprio was on hand to celebrate Jordan’s golden moment, as he surged in the final days of voting to win Best Actor.
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Odessa A’zion
The Marty Supreme actress toasted to the Oscars with a mini bottle of Tequila Don Julio 1942.
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Oscar
This was taken March 10 during the Governors Ball preview at the Ovation Hollywood Complex, a sneak peek at the glam spot where the winners go to get their statues engraved, but we thought you should see how the sausage, er, chocolate is made.
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Pedro Pascal, Jesse Plemons & Kirsten Dunst
Cue the body language experts to decipher what, exactly, Pascal just saw on his phone.
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Alexandre Singh & Natalie Musteata
Art reflected life for the directors of “Two People Exchanging Saliva,” who enjoyed their win for Best Live Action Short in the rarest of circumstances after finishing in a tie with “The Singers,” produced by Jack Piatt and directed by Sam A. Davis.
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Jack Piatt, Sam A. Davis, Natalie Musteata & Alexandre Singh
It was the more the merrier as the dual pairs of winners had a ball backstage with their shiny new Oscars.
Piatt told reporters in the press room that he wished there could have been a “five-way tie” among all the nominees.
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Michael B. Jordan
The Best Actor winner shared a quiet moment with Oscar before hitting In-N-Out on his way to the after-parties.
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Emma Stone, Dave McCary, Demi Moore, Kate Hudson & Danny Fujikawa
The guy in the row with the longest arms is usually put on selfie duty, and tonight the honor went to Best Actress nominee Hudson’s partner.
Kidman just came to this place to get to her seat, but ended up playing a supporting role in a photo bomb.
Watch the Oscars 2026 Sunday, March 15, at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT on ABC and streaming on Hulu.
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