(Photo by Monica Schipper/Getty Images)
Emma Stone is setting the record straight about the now-viral bee encounter at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival—and she’s not letting Austin Butler take the blame.
During an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Thursday, June 26, the 36-year-old actress and producer recalled the hilarious red carpet incident involving a surprise bee that disrupted a photo op with her Eddington co-stars Austin Butler and Pedro Pascal.
While chatting with guest host Diego Luna, who’s filling in for Kimmel for the week, Stone was quick to defend Butler after Luna jokingly asked whether he was behind the buzzy interruption.
“He is a sweetheart and a half — there is no way he wanted that bee in my face,” Stone said emphatically. The actress further clarified what happened in the moment, adding, “He was trying to blow it behind me!”
The bee moment quickly became a trending clip online, with some social media users speculating—tongue-in-cheek—that Butler may have blown the insect toward Stone instead of away from her. But Stone dismissed those claims and redirected the blame with a laugh.
Taking a playful jab, Luna quipped, “I think [Austin] brought the bee,” to which Stone responded, “I almost guarantee you, if anyone brought the bee, it was Pedro. … He probably unleashed that bee.”
The crowd erupted with laughter as Stone painted Pascal as the likely culprit behind the unexpected insect cameo. While Butler tried to blow the bee away, it was Pascal who ultimately smacked the bee in an attempt to end the chaos, according to witnesses at the scene.
The trio—Stone, Butler, and Pascal—were attending Cannes to promote their upcoming film Eddington, and the lighthearted bee moment added an unexpected dose of humor to their red carpet appearance.
Although the incident was brief, it sparked a wave of memes and fan theories online. But thanks to Stone’s good-natured clarification and humor, any misunderstanding appears to have been swatted away just like the bee.
With Eddington continuing to generate buzz (the good kind), fans will no doubt be seeing more of this trio—hopefully without any surprise insect guests next time.
