You’ll rarely see a major red carpet event without the iconic Glambot and its just-as-iconic operator, Cole Walliser. However, following that controversial leaked email exchange from 2019, the longtime Glambot host and director was noticeably absent from the 2026 Grammys red carpet. Instead, an unidentified woman was running the Glambot for E! instead. So where was Cole?
According to an inside source for Variety, Cole was reportedly “not hired for Sunday’s show, and that the company is rethinking its strategy around future telecasts.” Well then!
If you’re just getting caught up to speed on all this ^^ Cole first went viral after the 2026 Golden Globes when he defended Jennifer Lopez’s alleged “rude” treatment of him on the red carpet, explaining, “When people are distracted, or less chatty, or thinking about other stuff, I don’t take it personally.”
Soon after, an email exchange between Cole and a woman named Yinka Animashaun from 2019 started making the rounds on the internet, in which Yinka asked him about booking his services for her wedding. According to her screenshots, Yinka reportedly reached out to Cole to ask, “Are you/the Glambot available for private events such as a wedding? I’d love to have you at mine September 20th and September 22nd. Please let me know your availability and rates!”
His reported response: “It is not cheap, if you feel like something like this might be within your budget range, then I am happy to discuss further.” And it didn’t get better from there.
In response to the backlash, Cole took to social media to offer an apology, saying, “The tone in these emails was dismissive and curt and that is not okay. In 2019, I didn’t have a team around me. It was just myself. I edited every single video. I answered every single email and I was overwhelmed. But that is not an excuse. Everything lands on me.”
I guess time will tell whether Cole returns to the red carpet for the 2026 Oscars!
