Sadly, we didn’t get to see Ayo Edebiri bring main character energy to the SAG Awards red carpet tonight. Her absence comes as a surprise, as she is nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series, and she and her The Bear co-stars are up for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series. Edebiri did, however, attend the NAACP Image Awards the night before in Pasadena, California.
Last year, the actress took home two SAG Awards, for Female Actor in a Comedy Series and Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series for her work in The Bear. With a fourth season of the beloved FX show on the way, perhaps we’ll be able to see Edebiri back at the SAGs in the future.
The actress has not addressed the reason for her absence, but fans surely missed her presence.
In August, Ebebiri spoke to Backstage about how she has tried to prioritize life off-camera after a year of working nonstop, from The Bear to Bottoms. Enjoying life’s simple pleasures “does feel so trite, but it’s also the most crucial thing,” the actress said. “If you’re so consumed with making things, making things, making things, there’s no reserve in the well. There’s no real life in you.”
She added, “I’m really grateful for that grinding period, because now I’m in a place where I don’t have to be like that. I don’t have to give 120 percent to work, work, work 24/7. But I am glad I did that, because now it’s given me this space to say, ‘Ah, I’m a human being, and I love being a human being.’ It’s important for me—not just as an artist, [but] for me as myself—to know I deserve to have agency, to be an active participant in my own life.”
She set an “unrelenting” high standard for herself. “I always want to do excellent work and try to be a decent person,” she explained. “That’s as much as I can do. Even if that fails, at least I’ll have that intention.”
