Why Presenters Eric Dane, Sofia Vergara Skipped Emmys -- Along with The Bear's Jeremy Allen White, Ayo Edebiri

But not everyone was present for the refreshingly unpredictable event, with notable absences for presenters Eric Dane and Sofia Vergara, as well as nominees Jeremy Allen White and Ayo Edebiri of The Bear and both Beyoncé and Jay-Z, who wound up competing in the same category -- and losing.

Some of those absences happened so last minute, in fact, that producers were left scrambling with how to make adjustments, like when two of their presenters turned out to be no-shows. Sofia Vergara was set to present Best Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie, while Eric Dane was supposed to join Jesse Williams for a 20th anniversary tribute to Grey's Anatomy.

When that moment came, however, Williams walked out alone and presented the award for Drama Series Directing -- without mentioning either Dane or Shonda Rhimes' long-running ABC drama, which was even more surprising. Surely, he could have still honored the show's anniversary? Or maybe even partnered with another alum?

Dane's absence was so last minute that Williams talked about looking forward to paying tribute to Grey's alongside him on the red carpet before the show, calling the actor "my guy," per Page Six, adding, "He’s solid. The man’s just solid, and we have to be careful, you know, as men to still, you know, take care of ourselves and he’s got a perfect balance going."

So what happened? Producers spoke to Entertainment Tonight after the show and explained. "We got the message halfway through -- or not halfway, early on -- that he wasn’t going to be able to make it," said producer Jesse Collins. "I never got what it was."

Dane's appearance would have been his first major awards show appearance since he first revealed he'd been diagnosed with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, formerly Lou Gehrig's disease) in April. No specific reason for Dane's absence has been given.

As for Vergara, the America's Got Talent judge took to Instagram to share the startling reason she had pull out at the last minute herself -- and it was written all over her face. Instead of the Emmys, Vergara revealed she had to go to the ER for the "craziest eye allergy," which she said hit "right before getting in the car."

The Griselda star looked glam on one side of her face, but her left eye was swollen more than halfway shut in pics she shared to her Instagram, including a shot of her on a hospital bed and one attempting to wash her eye out with water.

It took two stars to replace Vergara, apparently, as both Brittany Snow and Malin Akerman stepped in to present the award she was set to hand out, which ultimately went to Adolescence's Stephen Graham, on his way to a dominating night.

The shocking Netflix limited series took home a total of eight Emmys across Sunday's show and the previous weekend's Creative Arts ceremonies, which was good enough for third biggest haul overall. Only The Penguin and The Studio scored more, with Seth Rogen's comedy freshman series dominating with 13 total wins. The Penguin had nine, while Adolescence shared its eight with SNL50: The Anniversary Special and Severance.

The massive night for Apple TV+'s The Studio, which became the most-winning freshman comedy in Emmy history, included wins for Outstanding Comedy Series, Directing, Writing, and Lead Actor Rogen, helped lead to a shocking shutout for The Bear -- though series stars Jeremy Allen White and Ayo Edebiri weren't there to see it.

After winning Best Actor in 2023 and 2024, White was notably absent on Sunday, when Rogen took the Emmy. Edebiri was up for two awards this year, losing Lead Actress to Hacks star Jean Smart and Directing to Rogen and Evan Goldberg for The Studio, but the multi-hyphenate was also absent.

Just hours before the Emmys were set to begin, Variety revealed that White would not be present, explaining that "his best friend is getting married" and he would instead be attending that wedding. As for Edebiri, it was a different scheduling conflict that kept her away, as E! News reported she was busy filming in Japan.

While Emmy producers were surely disappointed that some of their presenters, and biggest past winners, were unable to attend the ceremony, there has been some speculation that they were trying to lure even bigger fish with their decision to air the Outstanding Variety Special (Live) category.

Now, this could have also been a way to possibly honor Saturday Night Live legend Lorne Michaels for 50 years, who did eventually win the category, but he was also up for Scripted Variety Series. Fans, instead, think it was an effort to try and get both Beyoncé and Jay-Z to show up, as the husband-and-wife duo were competing against one another.

Jay-Z was nominated for producing Kendrick Lamar's Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show while Beyoncé picked up her nod for her own Beyoncé Bowl Netflix special. The category is traditionally handed out during the Creative Arts Emmy Awards, which took place last weekend, leading to the speculation that producers were hoping to entice the big-name stars.

It didn't work, even though Beyoncé still won her first Emmy when Beyoncé Bowl took home the Emmy for Outstanding Costumes for Variety, Nonfiction or Reality Programming. She certainly wasn't the only star to nab their first Emmy, as the night was filled with big surprises and refreshing new faces.

Check out all the winners here: