Julia Louis-Dreyfus Skipped 2018 SAG Awards To Focus On Cancer Recovery

Julia Louis-Dreyfus was noticeably absent from the 2018 SAG Awards last night (January 21) despite her record-breaking win at the award show, though the actor certainly wasn’t far from her co-stars’ minds as she continues her recovery after confirming last year that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer.

Julia took home her eighth and ninth SAG Awards at the 2018 ceremony, winning Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series as well as the collective award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series, both for her role as Selina Meyer in Veep. The double win means the star is now the most awarded actor in the show’s history.

Julia’s co-star Matt Walsh confirmed on the red carpet why she wasn’t in attendance to accept her two latest awards in person, and also gave her a very sweet shout out while accepting the ensemble cast award by referring to the mom-of-two as being the cast’s “leader.”

Speaking to Entertainment Tonight on the red carpet before the big show began, Walsh made it clear that Louis-Dreyfus is still doing well after confirming earlier this month that she’d completed her final round of chemotherapy, but decided against attending the Los Angeles awards show despite her double nomination in order to focus on a healthy recovery at home.

“She’s done with her chemo, prognosis remains excellent and she’s just chilling,” Matt told the outlet when asked how Julia is doing and why she wouldn’t be attending the January 21 awards. He then added that she’s fortunately still “doing well” in the wake of her cancer diagnosis.

Walsh also confirmed that Louis-Dreyfus has been in constant contact with her Veep co-stars every step of the way since she broke the news of her cancer diagnosis to the world with a heartbreaking tweet back in September 2017.

“She’s the best, she’s a good friend and she’s been texting and we been in touch with her and she’s doing great,” Matt revealed of his co-star.

And it seems like Julia will understandably be focusing on her health for a little while longer following her chemotherapy treatment, as Matt said on the red carpet that she’s not expected to be back to work on the set of Veep until August, which is when the cast will go about shooting the seventh and final season.

“She will [be back to film Veep’s last season in August],” he said of when the star is planning to head back to work.

But while Louis-Dreyfus may not have been at the 2018 SAG Awards in person this time around, the award show clearly wasn’t far from her mind as she revealed that she was watching her peers at the event from home.

The actress tweeted her gratitude after it was revealed that she’d won and also apologized for her absence on the social media site.

“I wish I could have been @SAGawards tonight but have to admit it’s pretty fun to watch in my pj’s,” Julia wrote on Twitter, adding that she was “so honored to win.”

“So proud to be a union member. So happy for my [Veep] bozos for winning ensemble award. Miss being at the table with you all. How was the chicken?” Louis-Dreyfus then joked to her fellow cast mates.

Julia’s double win at the 2018 Screen Actor’s Guild Awards came just days after she confirmed to her fans on social media that she’d officially completed her chemotherapy treatment, around four months after breaking the news of her breast cancer diagnosis to the world.

Louis-Dreyfus celebrated the milestone by sharing a hilarious and sweet video her two sons had sent to her to show their support, which showed them lip-syncing along to the Michael Jackson hit “Beat It.”