Patton Oswalt, Chelsea Handler and Anna Kendrick were among the honorees.
Nearly a month after his "situationship" with Emily Ratajkowski ended, Eric André's ready to joke about his dating life. Just ask Katie Couric.
The 39-year-old comedian roped the TV news legend into his speech while accepting the Cult Favorite Award at Variety's Power of Comedy event to kick off the first night of the 2023 South by Southwest Festival in Austin, Texas. Like many of the night's attendees, André was in shock after spotting Couric among the standing-room only crowd.
After spotting her, André stopped mid-sentence during his speech and said he couldn't believe that the person he thought looked like Couric actually was Couric.
"You're in the presence of a f***ing queen," exclaimed André, who almost a month ago posed nearly naked with Ratajkowski for a NSFW selfie. "We're dating."
The joke drew a burst of laughter, including from Couric, whose mere appearance had several comedians that night wondering if they were invited to the wrong event.
Chelsea Handler, recipient of the Comedy Icon Award, also mentioned Couric in her speech, when she joked about getting an invitation from Couric to a dinner party with Woody Allen, Charlie Rose and Prince Andrew.
"It was a hot mess of an evening," Handler quipped.
Patton Oswalt (Stand-Up Award), Anna Kendrick (Comedy Actress Award), Jake Johnson (Director's Award), Tim Robinson and Zach Khanin (Sketch Award) and Rachel Sennott (Breakthrough Artist Award) were also honored at the event. Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul star Bob Odenkirk presented at the event, as did former White House Press Secretery Jen Psaki, who introduced Handler.
While acknowledging that her celebrated comedic performances are all due to great writing, Kendrick did draw laughs when she looked at Too Hot to Handle's Harry Jowsey and joked that she wanted to hook up with him after learning about his sexual prowess on the hit Netflix dating show.
Phoebe Robinson, recipient of the Comedy Innovator, spoke about the challenges Black female comedians face in the industry before thanking Variety "for seating me in the far back corner."
"Have we learned nothing from Rosa Parks?" she quipped. "No, it's good to keep me humble."
Oswalt, who was not fazed when a rowdy audience member whooped and shouted about being from the town where he went to high school in Virginia, also had some parting shots for the event's sponsor Inspire Brands, the company behind the fast food joints Arby's, SONIC Drive-In and others.
"I'll keep this brief because I have to go accept the People magazine Chips Ahoy Flamin' Hot Cheetos Comedy Vanguard Award over at the Velveeta Room," he joked.
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