Emmys security almost interrupted a euphoric night for Zendaya's mom.
Claire Stoermer hilariously recalled her night at the 2022 Emmys minutes before her daughter won Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series for Euphoria. In an effort to soothe Zendaya's nerves, Claire approached the star's table—until she was held up by security.
"[I] made my way to Z before they awarded her the Emmy and gave her the biggest hug and said... breathe!!!" Claire wrote in an Instagram Story posted Sept. 13. The only problem? "The man who tried to stop me said 'where are your credentials?'"
Luckily, Claire knew just what to say.
"i said 'i'm zendaya's mom' and kept walking!!" she continued, adding laughing emojis. "hahaha! i never name drop like that but i have to do it!"
The magic words worked, and Claire was on hand to watch the actress give her acceptance speech.
"Thank you to the Academy, thank you to my friends and family, some of which are here tonight." Zendaya said during her speech, pausing to laugh as her mom cheered. "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."
Claire also took a moment to share her thanks to the Euphoria creator and his wife Ashley Levinson.
"I love this group of people." She wrote on her Instagram Story, accompanied by a photo of Zendaya and the Euphoria crew. "When Z is working on Euphoria, I don't worry about her! @samlev00 and @ashlevinson thank you!!"
With her mom present IRL, the 26-year-old had one less celebratory text to send, but the next person on her list to share the news with was boyfriend Tom Holland, who was not present at the ceremony due to his filming schedule.
"Well, I didn't have to text my mom because my mom was already there, she's here tonight, which is very special," she shared on the Live From E! After Party. "I texted my boyfriend."
Zendaya's historic win makes her the first Black woman to win lead actress in a drama series twice, both times for her portrayal of Rue Bennett in Euphoria, and the youngest two-time winner of an acting Emmy.
(E! and NBC are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)