Shailene Woodley's Stylist For The Emmys Calls Out 'Super Rude And Mean' Comments About Actor's Look

Shailene Woodley has plenty going on right now, including her first Emmy win and an ex-fiancé suddenly sharing intimate details about their relationship. Yet somehow, the internet has decided her red carpet outfit is the situation requiring immediate attention.

Woodley attended Monday’s 78th Primetime Emmy Awards after already having a pretty good reason to celebrate. The 34-year-old won her first Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for playing Annie Clay in season 2 of Hulu’s Paradise at the Creative Arts Emmys on September 6.

So, when Woodley hit the red carpet for the main ceremony, she was already a winner.

And then came this outfit:

What we’re looking at is a plunging periwinkle top, shimmering gold sequined pants, burgundy opera gloves, and a $98,000 Venetian glass and diamond necklace. That is a lot of outfit happening to one person at the same time.

Woodley, meanwhile, seemed perfectly happy while making the red carpet rounds:

Your eyes can start with the top, wander down to the sequins, circle back to the gloves, and briefly visit the necklace before starting the journey all over again and again and again.

Unfortunately for Woodley, social media took that journey, too. And then another lap. From TikTok to Instagram, the fashion commentary streets were working overtime, including @erinjoneswesley.

Watch her scathing review below:

Somewhere, Joan Rivers is furious she missed this one.

One Instagram user apparently saw evidence of a conspiracy:

“She clearly did something to make her stylist mad at her 😭.”

And the stylist? Karla Welch, whose client list includes Sarah Paulson, Tracee Ellis Ross, Olivia Wilde, and Justin and Hailey Bieber.

The look came from Pierpaolo Piccioli’s Balenciaga Fall/Winter 2026 haute couture collection. So no, Woodley didn’t just grab a stranger outside the Peacock Theater and ask them to put something together.

Welch also styled Woodley for her Creative Arts Emmys win, sharing that very different look here:

For the night she actually took home the trophy, Woodley wore a white Brandon Maxwell minidress with strappy black heels and a diamond-and-emerald HOWL necklace.

Same actress, same stylist, very different vibe.

The pile-on wasn’t limited to anonymous commenters. Megyn Kelly devoted part of Tuesday’s SiriusXM The Megyn Kelly Show to Woodley’s look, criticizing everything from the plunging top and sequined pants to her hair and gloves before ultimately blaming Welch.

After that—and plenty of other online commentary—Welch had some feelings about what the group chat had to say:

Welch’s point was less about whether everyone should love the outfit and more about where criticism turns into cruelty. And considering some of the commentary went well beyond “those pants aren’t for me,” she wasn’t exactly arguing without evidence.

She also wasn’t backing away from the look:

But social media wasn’t exactly ready to declare Welch the victim. Some users defended the stylist, arguing that fashion should be adventurous and Woodley looked happy wearing it. Others essentially responded: You can call it mean, but that still doesn’t make the outfit work.

Welch said her piece, but the internet had more:

Woodley, for her part, hasn’t publicly joined the great Emmys outfit debate. She did, however, make one notable wardrobe adjustment before heading to Disney’s after-party, swapping the periwinkle top and burgundy gloves for a black Home of the Brave T-shirt while keeping the sequined pants.

Make of that what you will:

Then again, perhaps having everyone debate your pants has its advantages. Ex-fiancé Aaron Rodgers has been airing out their old relationship, recently claiming that days after proposing, Woodley told him she wanted to sleep with someone else before they married.

When asked about Rodgers’ remarks at a pre-Emmys event, Woodley reportedly laughed, flashed a smile, and kept moving.

If nothing else, the great Shailene Woodley fashion crisis of 2026 gave @angelicahacks plenty to work with:

In the end, Welch got her fashion conversation—complete with Megyn Kelly, TikTok recreations, amateur fashion critics, and enough discourse to make Rodgers the second-most awkward thing happening in Woodley’s week. Not bad for one pair of sequined pants and some burgundy gloves.