The Golden Globes returned to TV on Tuesday night, resulting in a star-stacked ceremony that was both uproariously funny and deeply inspiring.
Hosting the proceedings was On the Count of Three star/director and Emmy-winning Rothaniel star/writer Jerrod Carmichael, who directly addressed the well-publicized Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) controversies and subsequent reform efforts in his opening monologue.
As for the awards themselves, there were a few surprises during the night, as well as several widely predicted wins. The Fabelmans emerged victorious in the Best Motion Picture (Drama) category, while The Banshees of Inisherin took home the same honor in the Musical or Comedy division. Winning actors on the film side included Austin Butler (Elvis), Cate Blanchett (Tár), Colin Farrell (The Banshees of Inisherin), Michelle Yeoh (Everything Everywhere All at Once), Ke Huy Quan (Everything Everywhere All at Once), and Angela Bassett (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever).
HBO’s House of the Dragon, meanwhile, was named Best Television Series (Drama), beating out top contenders like Better Call Saul and Severance. For Musical or Comedy, the distinction went to Abbott Elementary, whose stars Quinta Brunson and Tyler James Williams also took home individual awards.
For a full list of this year’s winners, hit this link. Below, see a selection of highlights from Tuesday’s ceremony, including a pair of jokes about The Slap and a playful joke about the long wait for a follow-up to Rihanna’s 2016 album Anti.
“I’ll tell you why I’m here,” Carmichael told attendees at the top of his opening monologue. “I’m here because I’m Black.” From there, the writer/comedian/actor/director spoke at length about the HFPA, including its recent diversity scandal.
“I won’t say they were a racist organization, but they didn’t have a single Black member until George Floyd died,” he said at one point. Elsewhere, he reflected on ultimately making the decision to host this year’s ceremony and pointed to evenings of this variety as important to artists at large.
After an introduction from Tracy Morgan and Jamie Lee Curtis, Eddie Murphy—who needs no introduction as a comedic force whose work speaks for itself—took the stage to accept this year’s Cecil B. DeMille Award.
During the final moments of his speech, Murphy shared what he billed as a “blueprint” he’s followed throughout his decades-long career, breaking down his approach into three simple rules. The final rule, he joked, was to “keep Will Smith’s wife’s name out your fucking mouth.”
Meanwhile, the evening’s host also slid in a Slap joke of his own by telling viewers after a commercial break they had just missed the actor being presented with “the Rock Hudson Award for Best Portrayal of Masculinity on Television.”
Rihanna fans need no reminding that the still-in-rotation Anti album arrived way back in 2016. And while the Globes-nominated Black Panther: Wakanda Forever track “Lift Me Up” was met with enthusiasm, Rihanna has been clear that developments like an impending Super Bowl performance do not necessarily mean that a follow-up is imminent.
“I’m gonna say something very controversial because I will actually get in trouble for this,” Carmichael said on Tuesday night when addressing Rihanna, who was in the audience alongside ASAP Rocky. “Rihanna, you take all the time you want on that album, girl. Don’t let these fools on the internet pressure you into nothing.”
During a quick transitional moment on Tuesday night, Carmichael appeared while holding three trophies, joking that the items in question were indeed the ones previously returned by Top Gun: Maverick star Tom Cruise.
“I have a pitch,” Carmichael said. “I think maybe we take these three things and exchange them for the safe return of Shelly Miscavige.”
Shelly, of course, is married to Church of Scientology leader David Miscavige. For years, she has remained the subject of much public speculation focused on her whereabouts, with Leah Remini at one point filing a missing persons report.
Michelle Yeoh, rightfully, was honored on Tuesday night with the award for Best Performance in a Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy) for her performance in the unanimously acclaimed Everything Everywhere All at Once. Her acceptance speech was an emotional and inspiring one, with Yeoh at one point expressing understandable frustration at show handlers’ attempts at cutting her remarks short.
“Shut up, please,” she said when a track started playing beneath her speech. “I can beat you up, okay? And that’s serious.”
