Zendaya Breaks Silence on Golden Globes Win After Skipping Ceremony: ’I’m Honestly at a Loss for Words’

Zendaya wasn’t at the Golden Globes tonight, but she still hit a career milestone at the ceremony, winning her first-ever Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Drama Series. When she was announced as the winner for her work in Euphoria as Rue, the presenters explained she couldn’t attend because she was working.

But Zendaya took to Instagram this evening to express her shock and gratitude over the honor, as well as apologize for her absence. She wrote:

I’m so sorry I wasn’t able to be there tonight, but I just wanted to say thank you to @goldenglobes for this incredible honor. To my fellow nominees, it is a privilege to be named beside you, I admire you all deeply. Thank you to my Euphoria family, without you, none of this is possible. Lastly, thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone who has allowed Rue into theirs. I think everyone knows how much she means to me, but the fact that she can mean something to someone else is a gift. I’m honestly at a loss for words as I type this, all I can say is thank you thank you thank you. Goodnight♥️

Zendaya was snubbed from the Golden Globes for her work in season 1 as Rue, a performance that earned her a history-making Emmy.

But in better news, she won her second Best Actress Emmy for portraying Rue in season 2 this September. In that speech, she also touched on how much the character means to her and her hope of what people will take from the show.

“Thank you to Sam [Levinson] for sharing Rue with me,” she said. “Thank you for believing in me even in moments where I didn’t believe in myself and then lastly, I just want to say you know, my greatest wish for Euphoria was that it could help heal people. I just want to say thank you to everyone who has shared their story with me. I want you to know that anyone who has loved a Rue or feels like they are a Rue, I want you to know I’m so grateful for your stories and I carry them with me, and I carry them with her. So thank you so much.”

Senior News and Strategy Editor

Alyssa Bailey is the senior news and strategy editor at ELLE.com, where she oversees coverage of celebrities and royals (particularly Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton). She previously held positions at InStyle and Cosmopolitan. When she’s not working, she loves running around Central Park, making people take #ootd pics of her, and exploring New York City.