Shailene Woodley’s Stylist Responds to ‘Mean’ Criticism of Her Emmys Look

Shailene Woodley’s longtime stylist, Karla Welch, has pushed back against the harsh online reaction to the actress’s 2026 Emmys outfit, which sparked widespread criticism from fans.

Woodley, 34, arrived at television’s biggest awards ceremony in a plunging Balenciaga top, crystal-embellished trousers, over-the-elbow burgundy leather gloves and a necklace featuring multicolored stones. The unconventional ensemble quickly divided viewers, with some social media users urging the actress to “fire” her stylist.

Welch, 52, addressed the backlash on Threads Wednesday. “Love or hate something, fine, but it’s an opinion,” she wrote.

The celebrity stylist continued: “It can even be a conversation, but being super rude and mean and taking glee from it, well, that says a lot more about the mouths it’s coming from.”

Welch’s response drew a mixed reaction. While some followers applauded her willingness to embrace bold, experimental fashion, others argued that she should acknowledge that the styling missed the mark.

“The whole point of fashion is to play and try new things and be adventurous! Most are too scared to!” one supporter commented. “Most importantly, she looked so happy and at ease, and like she was having so much fun and feeling like the best version of herself!” Welch liked the post.

Another fan came to Woodley’s defense, simply declaring that the actress “looked amazing.”

A critic, however, directly blamed Welch for the controversial styling. “You need to own you made her look bad. She trusted YOU and you fell short,” the commenter wrote.

Welch, whose celebrity clients have included Karlie Kloss, Olivia Wilde, Sarah Paulson, Justin Bieber and Hailey Bieber, later shared an image of Woodley’s outfit alongside another graphic reading, “Trigger Warning.”

“We ♥️ pppiccioli,” she wrote on Threads, referring to Balenciaga creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli and signaling her support for the designer behind the look.

Welch also worked with Hacks star Hannah Einbinder for the star-studded Emmy Awards ceremony.

Woodley’s red carpet appearance attracted criticism beyond social media. Red carpet commentator Melissa Rivers included the actress on her worst-dressed list for the evening.

Later that night, Woodley appeared to move away from the divisive ensemble, covering it with a T-shirt while attending a Disney after-party on Monday.

Her rare fashion miss comes just days after her ex-fiance Aaron Rodgers, 42, sensationally claimed that she asked to ‘go f***’ another man before getting married. 

And fans were quick to callback to the drama as they mocked her red carpet look on X (formerly Twitter), with one writing: ‘fit so bad you completely vindicate Aaron Rodgers.’

Another commented: ‘Who told her this looks good and did she look in mirror?’ 

‘I am so sad her stylist led her astray. What a terrible outfit’

Several fans branded Woodley’s look a ‘mess’ while others went as far as to say her stylist should be out of a job.

‘Shailene Woodley, fire your stylist,’ read one scathing tweet, with another person writing: ‘how can hannah’s stylist dress her so good and then there’s shailene woodley.’

Some jokingly suspected that Woodley’s stylist may be a ‘Packers fan,’ referring to her ex Rodgers’s football team.

The NFL star put his past romance with Woodley on blast when he appeared on the ‘Not Just Football’ podcast last Thursday.

He claimed the Paradise actress told him she had to ‘go f***’ another man before telling Rodgers she didn’t want to be with him anymore.

Rodgers proposed to Woodley in December 2021 but their relationship ended just three months later. They had gone public with their romance a year earlier.

‘I proposed to Shailene and she said yes. Now, she maybe felt like she was forced to make a decision. She could have said no,’ Rodgers told Pittsburgh Steelers teammate Cam Heyward.

‘A couple days after that she tells me, ‘Before we get married, I gotta go f*** this guy,’ and I’m like – because her story is that I ruined her life and gave her crazy depression because I left her.’

‘But in actuality, she told me that and then she took off the ring by March – I proposed in December – and we had a couple of times where we tried to get reunited and nothing ever happened. There wasn’t even a relationship in 2022 to break off.

‘She literally told me, “I don’t want to be with you” after we tried some reconciliation in 2021. There’s just a lot of narrative out there that isn’t true.’ 

While Woodley herself has yet to publicly respond, the star’s inner circle have reportedly been left ‘alarmed’ by Rodgers’s remarks, according to TMZ. 

Her pals reportedly feel that Rodgers’ comments were ‘completely out of character,’ claiming the football player, who is now married, hasn’t spoken to Woodley in more than two years. 

Woodley previously described the breakdown of her relationship with Rodgers as a ‘traumatic thing.’