Katy Perry wasn’t in attendance at Wednesday night’s People’s Choice Awards, but she still won big.
The singer, who backed out of appearing at the ceremony earlier this week (husband Russell Brand filed for divorce last month), won the most awards at the 38th annual fan-favorite extravaganza.
Pictures: People’s Choice Awards red carpet
Pictures: Highlights from the show
Pictures: Winners in the press room
People’s Choice Awards: Full list of winners
Special section: Awards season
Perry was honored in five categories, including favorite female artist, tour headliner, song of the year for “E.T.” with Kanye West, music video for “Last Friday Night,” and TV guest star for “How I Met Your Mother.”
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2,” the final installment of the magical film series starring Daniel Radcliffe, followed behind Perry with four wins for favorite movie, action movie, book adaptation and ensemble movie cast, but the film’s stars also weren’t present at the ceremony, leaving more time on the CBS broadcast for winners in other categories.
Ellen DeGeneres, Nina Dobrev, Chloe Grace Moretz, Adam Levine, Lea Michele and Demi Lovato, who performed “Give Your Heart a Break,” were among the winners on hand to accept their awards selected by Internet votes.
“For all the Rachel Berrys out there, this one’s for you guys,” said Michele, who won favorite TV comedy actress.
Emma Stone and Johnny Depp – another no-show – won two trophies at the ceremony, which was hosted by “The Big Bang Theory” star Kaley Cuoco. Depp and Stone, respectively, won the favorite movie actor and actress awards, while Depp was also honored as favorite animated movie voice for “Rango,” and Stone was selected as favorite comedic movie actress.
“I moved to L.A. eight years ago this week with my mom, who’s right there,” Stone said while accepting her pair of crystal trophies. “It is so insane to be standing up here right now. It is hard to describe to you.”
Maya Rudolph let her fellow honorees in a Wilson Philips rendition when “Bridesmaids” won for favorite comedy movie, while Robert Pattinson (donning a super-short buzz cut) accepted the favorite drama movie award for “Water for Elephants.”
Morgan Freeman used his acceptance speech to give an impromptu lesson: “When I found out that I’d been nominated for the first-ever People’s Choice movie icon award, I decided to look up ‘icon,”‘ Freeman said. “Here’s what I found: The first definition said an icon is a tiny picture on a computer screen that represents a file.”
Performances came from Lovato (herself a winner for favorite pop artist) and Faith Hill.
Other awards went to Nathan Fillion (favorite TV drama actor), Adam Sandler (favorite comedic movie actor), Maroon 5 (favorite band), Ryan Reynolds (favorite superhero, as Green Lantern) and Chloe Moretz (favorite movie star under 25).
Cuoco kicked off the night in familiar territory, with an opener featuring her “The Big Bang Theory” co-stars. When she arrived on stage, Cuoco had to contend with Harris, who tried to hijack the proceedings with a song and showgirls in tow.
Later in the ceremony, she visited the set of “Parks and Recreation” in a taped segment while the cast showed off their talents, and changed into a “Little House on the Prairie” costume after viewers voted for it on Twitter.
“How I Met Your Mother” and “Supernatural” won for favorite network TV comedy and drama, respectively, while “Hot in Cleveland” and “Pretty Little Liars” won in the cable categories.
Voting for two of the awards – favorite new TV comedy and drama – continued until the end of the ceremony. Those went to “2 Broke Girls” and “Person of Interest.”
A number of awards were not handed out during the ceremony. Some of those winners include Lady Gaga (favorite album of the year), “American Idol” (favorite TV competition show), Hugh Jackman (favorite action movie star) and Taylor Swift (favorite country artist).
Tell us: Did your favorite star win a People’s Choice Award?