SAN JOSE, Calif. — Among the many stars who glammed it up for the 2026 Emmys red carpet Monday night, Shailene Woodley apparently got people talking more than anyone else, though not for the reasons celebrities usually want.

For TV’s biggest night, the 34-year-old film and TV actor definitely made “a statement,” as the Hollywood Reporter said, by turning up in something from Balenciaga’s Fall/Winter 2026 runway: A plunging periwinkle top and beaded gold pants. On the runway, the ensemble came with a dramatic hooded cape. But for the Emmys, Woodley — or her stylist — had other ideas, according to Page Six. She accessorized the loosely hanging top and baggy pants with burgundy opera gloves, a gemstone necklace, severe-looking makeup and a slicked-back pony tail.

It would be kind to say that the look left people divided. While a few of the many thousands of online commenters praised Woodley for her “daring” fashion choice, many more denounced the look as “horrible,” “terrible,” heinous” and “a crime.” It left people on a Vanity Fair Instagram post asking if her stylist “was mad at her,” with others saying, “Every single person on her team was not on her team that day,” or, “She is so beautiful. This outfit is so bad.”

Even more unsettling, Woodley should have been basking in the glow of just winning a Creative Arts Emmy for her role in Hulu’s “Paradise,” as Page Six reported. Instead, the “Divergent” star was dealing with the specter of her controversial ex-fiancé Aaron Rodgers — especially the incendiary things he recently said about her, their relationship and their acrimonious 2022 breakup.

On the Vanity Fair post, one person said, “Oh God! Did Aaron Rodger’s revenge dress her?” Elsewhere on social media, people joked about whether the NFL quarterback was her stylist for the night.

Last week, Rodgers didn’t hold back while discussing the demise of their relationship on the “Not Just Football With Cam Heyward” podcast, as Entertainment Weekly reported. In talking about the two meeting, dating and quietly getting engaged during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback said he proposed and Woodley said yes, though “maybe felt like she was forced to make a decision. She could have said no.”

Rodgers then made his most shocking claim by saying that, a few days after he proposed, “she tells me before we get married like, ‘I got to go (expletive) this guy.'”

He continued: “‘Cause her story is, I ruined her life and gave her crazy depression because I left her, but in actuality she told me that and took off the ring by March.”

During a 2024 interview with Outside magazine, Woodley described the relationship as “toxic” and the split as “traumatic.” Woodley said, “I felt like I lost my soul, my self, my happiness, my joy. I really understood depression and anxiety and, like, complete soul detachment.”

For his part, the former Green Bay Packer player said on the podcast that they tried to reconcile on several occasions, but to no avail. “There wasn’t even a relationship in ’22 to break off,” he said on the podcast. “She literally told me I don’t want to be with you.”

Even before Woodley made her unusual fashion statement at Monday night’s Emmys, she was confronted with Rodgers’ comments at a pre-Emmys fundraiser Sunday night, Entertainment Weekly reported. While arriving at the event, a reporter from TMZ shouted out, “Any comment about Aaron Rodgers?”

Woodley “stopped in her tracks, turned to the voice, and laughed,” Entertainment Weekly reported. “While it may not seem like much, Woodley’s lighthearted reaction to such a personal question says a lot,” according to the outlet.

That may be true, and perhaps Woodley’s outfit choice for Monday night’s ceremony was her own version of “revenge dressing.” Against Rodgers, perhaps? Or against the Hollywood red carpet industrial complex? Woodley has developed a reputation for being a talented actor and independent thinker.

On Instagram, some of Woodley’s fans defended her look as more stylish and fashion forward than people realize. “Am I the only one who thinks she pulls this off?? This woman is so stunning she could wear a paper bag tbh,” one person said. Another person insisted, “Us fashion girlies KNOW this slayed.”

On X, someone else conceded, “It’s definitely catchy.” Then again, this person added: “But, unless I’m missing something, it looks to me like a cry for help.”

Others invoked the memory of the late comedian Joan Rivers, who became famous for her snarky “Fashion Police” commentary at Hollywood red carpet events. “Joan Rivers we need you,” internet personality Link Lauren declared on X. “This outfit is an utter calamity!”

“It is not fashion in my book,” someone replied. “Utter calamity is putting it mildly.”

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