The biggest heist of this year’s Emmy Awards? Tom Holland and Zendaya’s decision to deny us their red carpet debut as a couple. Don’t worry—the happy couple is still very much together. Only days ago, Holland was photographed visiting Zendaya on the set of Dune 2 in Budapest. But Holland’s absence from the red carpet was notable given the doubly historic nature of Zendaya’s win for lead actress in a drama series.
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It’s easy to see why the notoriously private pair would choose not to attend the show together. For them, every public outing becomes a headline.
“I’ve always been really adamant to keep my private life private, because I share so much of my life with the world anyway,” Holland told GQ last year. “We sort of felt robbed of our privacy.”
And in a way, appearing on the red carpet with Holland would’ve infringed upon (overshadowed is clearly too strong word) Zendaya’s big moment. Tonight, she became the first Black woman to win lead actress in a drama series twice and the youngest two-time winner for acting. It was powerful to watch her walk the red carpet solo and stand on the strength of her accomplishments. I mean, duh, that’s the real headline.
“Thank you to the Academy, thank you to my friends and family, some of which are here tonight,” the actress said during her moving acceptance speech. “Thank you to Sam [Levinson] for sharing Rue with me, thank you for believing in me even in moments where I didn’t believe in myself.”
