Webby Awards 2026: Druski and Pete Davidson Win Special Honors, AI Earns Its Own Category for the First Time
The 30th annual Webby Awards announced its 2026 winners, including a new standalone AI category. Special Achievement honorees include Druski for his impact as a comedy creator and Pete Davidson for 'The Pete Davidson Show' podcast on Netflix. Kylie Kelce won Podcast of the Year for 'Not Gonna Lie with Kylie Kelce.' Shonda Rhimes received the inaugural Webby Streaming Person of the Year Award, and Taraji P. Henson won the IADAS and NAACP Webby Advocate of the Year Award. Anthropic's Claude received the Webby Person of the Year Award. The ceremony takes place May 11 in New York City.
THE BREAKDOWN
The Webbys now formally position AI platforms alongside human creators as peers in internet culture, which sets a precedent for how industry recognition and sponsorship dollars will flow going forward. The Druski and Pete Davidson wins reinforce that personality-driven comedy and podcast formats are where creator recognition is concentrating this cycle. Kylie Kelce's Podcast of the Year win is particularly useful for reps: a sports-adjacent creator with a highly personal, conversational format is now competing at the top tier against legacy media. Use these results when pitching conversational podcast formats to streaming partners and brand sponsors.
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