The People’s Choice Awards were held in Los Angeles on Sunday night and the fan-voted awards show had its fair share of powerful and surprising moments. Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” movie took home big wins, as did Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce. Here are the top moments from the night.

1. Simu Liu hosts, with opening skit that pays homage to “The Bear”

The “Avengers” star opened the ceremony with a pre-recorded skit that paid homage to the hit show “The Bear,” a chaotic scene that mimicked the show’s fast-paced restaurant kitchen setting. 

During Liu’s opening monologue, he seemed to take a dig at Jo Koy, whose Golden Globes hosting gig was met with criticism. “An Asian hosting a major awards show, what could possibly go wrong?” Liu joked.

He also took a dig at “Oppenheimer,” saying it did well at the box office because it opened the same day as “Barbie,” a movie Liu appeared in as one of the Ken characters. The joke got a shocked reaction from his “Barbie” co-star, America Ferrera. 

The host also paid respect to Taylor Swift. “Who can forget that one little movie about a blonde American icon that had the entire country dressing up, dancing the night away and making huge waves at the box office,” he said. “I’m talking about Taylor Swift, ‘The Eras Tour.’ Oh, did you think I was gonna say [Barbie]? I was a Swiftie long before I was Ken.” 

Swift won female artist of the year while her boyfriend, Chiefs player Travis Kelce, won athlete of the year, but neither was at the ceremony. 

2. Jeremy Renner makes surprise appearance

Jeremy Renner, who suffered a life-threatening snow plow accident last year, made a surprise appearance at the top of the awards ceremony, presenting the first award – TV performance of the year, to Billie Eilish for “Swarm.” 

“Gotta say, it feels good to be back,” said Renner after getting a huge applause as he walked on stage. “This year’s been a heck of a journey and I’m happy to be here with you, the fans. You guys are the best. You guys really brought this year. You broke records. You turned movies into movements. We heard you all loud and clear, we heard you.”

Renner was in critical condition after being run over by his snow plow near Reno, Nevada, in January 2023. He had surgery for blunt chest trauma and orthopedic injuries.

He gave his first interview after the accident last April, saying he had gotten on his feet just the day before. He was able to walk onto the People’s Choice Awards stage Sunday unaided.

3. Adam Sandler wins People’s Choice Icon award

Jennifer Aniston presented her friend Adam Sandler with the People’s Choice Icon award, calling her frequent co-star a “brother from another mother.” Sandler presented Aniston with the same award in 2019.

Sandler joked that when he was told he was receiving the award, he misheard it and thought he was receiving People Magazine’s “Sexiest Man Alive” award.

“My name is Adam Sandler and I am the sexiest man alive, can I get a hell yeah?” he joked. That title actually went to “Grey’s Anatomy” star Patrick Dempsey last year.

4. America Ferrera earns award for role in “Barbie”

The “Barbie” movie won big at People’s Choice – including a win for America Ferrera, who took home the award for movie performance of the year. 

Ferrera is also nominated for the best supporting actress Oscar, but “Barbie” actress Margot Robbie and director Greta Gerwig were not among the film’s eight Academy Award nominations.

“Barbie” won big at the People’s Choice Awards, taking home movie of the year and comedy movie of the year honors. Ryan Gosling, who played Ken, won male movie star of the year, while Robbie, who played “typical” Barbie, won female movie star of the year. 

Fererra took time during her acceptance speech to “thank the incomparable” Gerwig and Robbie. “It feels like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be a part of such a bold and inspiring masterpiece and to get to speak words of truth that so many of us needed to hear out loud,” she said. 

5. Lenny Kravitz performs greatest hits

Lenny Kravitz was presented with the music icon award and performed a medley of his hits including “Fly Away” and “It Ain’t Over ’til It’s Over.”

During his acceptance speech, he also referenced his first album, called “Let Love Rule,” which catapulted him to stardom in 1989. “Love is the strongest power, and love will win. We are all one — one God, one people, one planet. Let love rule, y’all,” he said.

Other musical performances during the ceremony included Kylie Minogue, singing her hit “Padam Padam,” and Lainey Wilson, who sang a medley of her songs.

Caitlin O’Kane

Caitlin O’Kane is a New York City journalist who works on the CBS News social media team as a senior manager of content and production. She writes about a variety of topics and produces “The Uplift,” CBS News’ streaming show that focuses on good news.