A note to all awards shows that have dared to take place during the past year: The Golden Globes will see your virtual ceremonies, and raise you a broadcast hosted on two different coasts.
Unable to bring everyone to the Beverly Hilton Hotel due to the coronavirus pandemic, NBC got creative with Sunday’s Globes, a semi-virtual affair emceed by Amy Poehler (in Los Angeles) and Tina Fey (in New York City). And, as you might expect from a ceremony that ambitious, the evening had its shares of highs (John Boyega’s incredibly relatable bottom-half attire) and lows (you’re on mute, Daniel Kaluuya!).
In the list below, we’ve gathered a dozen moments from the Globes that struck us as memorable for one reason or another, whether they were funny, tearjerking or downright cringey. And though it’d be easy to define the broadcast by its technical glitches or comedic bits that didn’t quite work, this year’s Globes were also quite moving, full of speeches and shout-outs that brought us to tears.
NBC’s pre-show, hosted by Jane Lynch and Susan Kelechi Watson, earned a couple of spots on our list, as well, thanks to unscripted moments from Jared Leto and Regina King. (Well, Regina King’s dog, that is.)
Grade the 2021 Golden Globes in our poll below, then scroll through our list of best and worst moments and add your own in the comments!
Pre-show interviews are chock full of “Stars, they’re just like us!” moments, including this gem from Jared Leto when Jane Lynch made note of his lovely shelves in the background: “Straight from IKEA,” the actor admitted, with a delivery so perfect, we’d like to give it a last-minute Golden Globe nomination.
No one can command a room quite like Regina King… except for her adorable dog, Cornbread. It’s not that we meant to ignore what King was saying in her pre-show interview with This Is Us star Susan Kelechi Watson. But with Cornbread carefully climbing into his bed in the background, then settling in and giving a big yawn, how could you blame us? What a good, scene-stealing boy.
Viewers, Daniel Kaluuya’s fellow nominees and an uncomfortable-looking Laura Dern tried to smile as the winner of Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role tried to speak but couldn’t be heard, which felt especially symbolic given the lack of Black HFPA voters. But Kaluuya made up for the technical glitch by delivering a humorous speech from the heart. “You’re doing me dirty!” Kaluuya said before expressing his gratitude and thanking his mom, sisters, costars and the man he portrayed, the late activist Fred Hampton. “Like the great Nipsey Hussle said, ‘We’re here to give until we’re empty,’ and I gave everything,” the actor concluded.
While accepting the award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Supporting Role, the Small Axe star intentionally revealed that his awards show attire only went as far as his waist, proudly announcing that he was wearing “trackies” — aka Brit slang for track pants — on his lower half. Because why dress for what the camera can’t see?
The Globes made many, uh, interesting technical choices during Sunday’s broadcast, including the puzzling decision to have the nominees for an upcoming category linger on screen for a good 30 seconds (at least!) before a commercial break. What started as earnest smiles and waves to the camera quickly devolved into, “Wait, are we still on?” confusion and awkward giggles. “There they are — some of the biggest stars in Hollywood!” the Globes’ announcer remarked, while the actual visual of said stars was Catherine O’Hara scrolling through her phone.
Thanks to choppy Wi-Fi connections and the strange phenomenon of seeing everyone’s face in a small rectangle these days, some jokes can get lost in digital translation, like this bit between Schitt’s Creek star Catherine O’Hara and her husband, Bo Welch. Perhaps in person, Welch jokingly playing wrap-up music for O’Hara over his phone would have landed, but here, it was just an awkward miss that we initially interpreted to be actual rudeness.
Tracy Morgan pulled a Tracy Jordan when he mispronounced the winner of Best Original Score — Pixar’s Soul — as “Sal!” But the goof was quickly redeemed by the TV comedy actor nominees riffing on it before the commercial break. Don Cheadle was dumbfounded, Ramy Youssef couldn’t stop laughing, and a giddy Jason Sudeikis ran with it: “Soul’s Pizzeria!”
“It’s great to be Black at the Golden Globes,” This Is Us star Sterling K. Brown said, dealing with the elephant in the (ball)room as he took the stage to present the Best Actor in a Television Series category. “Back, back at the Golden Globes.”
It’s not that this pre-taped bit — in which celebs consulted real doctors about their new, quarantine-induced medical symptoms — was entirely unfunny. (Andrew Rannells’ appearance was a highlight, for sure.). It simply went on far too long, and, uh, surely these docs have better things to be doing during a pandemic?
One of the evening’s biggest tearjerkers came from the ceremony’s smallest participant: Minari director Lee Isaac Chung’s adorable young daughter. “I prayed! I prayed!” the girl exclaimed, jumping into Chung’s arms after Minari won Best Foreign Language Film — and just like that, our Kleenex box was empty.
Cecil B. DeMille Award winner Jane Fonda used her acceptance of the lifetime achievement award to draw attention to “a story we’ve been afraid to see and hear about ourselves… a story about which voices we respect and elevate and which we tune out, a story about who’s offered a seat at the table and who’s kept out of the rooms where decisions are made.” She struck the perfect tone as she urged her contemporaries in the biz to ensure that “everyone’s story has a chance to be seen and heard.” After all, art has always led the way, “so let’s be leaders.”
“He would thank God. He would thank his parents. He would thank his ancestors for their guidance and their sacrifices,” began Taylor Simone Ledward, widow of the late Chadwick Boseman, who died of colon cancer in 2020. After Boseman’s posthumous win for Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Ledward accepted the Golden Globe on his behalf in a speech that left Boseman’s fellow nominees, and many other audience members, misty-eyed. “He would say something beautiful. Inspiring,” she continued. “Something that would amplify that little voice inside of all of us that tells you you can, that tells you to keep going, that calls you back to what you are meant to be doing in this moment in history.” Ledward’s speech could not have been easy to deliver, but she did it quite beautifully.
Andra Day winning, after never acting before was amazing, and seeing Jodie Foster, one of the most seasoned actress’s being genuinely surprised with her wife, the dog and all in PJ’s was great too. I loved seeing the families and friends for all the nominees. Sure we sometimes see a wife or husband but to see kids, and dogs, and friends was pretty cool. To be fair I have seen maybe 1 or 2 of the nominated videos and a handful of the TV series, but just wanted to see how it would roll out, and I think Amy and Tina and the Golden Globes in general did a nice job.
… and Jodie’s dog was so chill scrunched in the middle.
I am looking forward to seeing Jodie’s movie when it comes to Amazon.
Pat The Mauritanian was so good! I eat lucky enough to see a sneak preview, and found it Oscar-worthy for sure. Chadwick Boseman is (was 😓) amazing, but the lead actor in Mauritanian deserves all the awards this year 👏🏆
Came here for Jodie Foster’s dog (with the bandana matching her fancy pajamas!), leaving disappointed.
I thought music man was great. It was very “them” if you’ve followed their careers. Jodie’s surprise, her and her wife’s PJs and their dog was great. The kids knowing Chadwick made me cry. Amy and Tina were funny. Andra Day, Chloe Zhao, Mark Ruffalo, and Chadwick’s wife were amazing. Jane Fonda’s speech. The dinosaurs behind Sandra Oh. Rosamund Pike’s digs. Sacha’s Rudy and Trump swipes. LMAO. The ceremony wasn’t perfect but it was entertaining and despite the Orange buffoon being OOO, we still need some silly, some goofs, and just something to laugh at. Norman Lear at 98 says laughter is the best medicine. He’s right. Stop being so serious and just laugh at the “worst” moments. It’ll make you feel good.
Agree with so much of this post!
With one exception, I do agree that music man was great, but it did kind of fail with how it made it hard to hear/how that messes with zoom sound. I appreciated the joke though.
I thought it was actually a really lovely ceremony, all things considered. It didn’t feel like a bloated self-congratulatory affair like award shows normally do. It made all these famous people feel a little more human.
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The hosts and crew should be applauded for doing a great job
BEST: I looooooooooved Susan Kaleechi Watson’s second dress, the one she wore when presenting next to Sterlink K Brown. The radiant pattern and colors almost were as radiant as her smile, but that was some dress…
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WORST: The late winners actually getting played off (Sasha Baron Cohen) after miserable and too long earlier bits like the May Rudolph/Keenan Thompson couple/siblings winning for “worst song”. How did ANYONE think that was a good bit and deserved that much time?
Grrr. Sterling.
Opening was great. The rest of the show (well, the 30 minutes I watched after the opening) was an epic failure. Please don’t do this again, even if we’re still in a pandemic next year.
I actually really enjoyed the doctors and nurses bit. And how silly is it to say that the people who most need a break from the pandemic can’t take a breather and have a few minutes of fun???
This is exactly what I was planning on saying. Yes, they have better things to do, and they deserve their much needed break from those better things. I’m sure it took a minimal amount of their time.
I actually HATED…the whole “you’re doing me dirty”.
No, there are just tech issues.
It… was a joke.
I was so bored, I stopped watching after just a half hour. Me, who loves the awards shows!
Jane Fonda should never be given any award. Obviously, y’all have forgotten her traitorous actions during the Viet Nam War!
Stop. Just stop.
Fonda’s only “crime” was that she ended up being right.
This infuriated critics who referred to themselves as being on the political right, but who were never actually CORRECT.
This ^^^^^^
How many times does she need to apologize for sitting on the plane? Her other actions fit pretty much in line with anyone who hates war….not the soldiers.
I was sewing in the garage and had the show on, but kept an eye on it. IThe part that got me was where the young man was talking to the kids and they all were giving crazy answers to who are the HFPA, who is Jane Fonda, whatever. Then they asked who is Chadwick Boseman and all the kids said Black Panther right off the bat. One little guy said “he was the good guy”. When the one asking said “good guy?” the kid replied “black panther” in a sad little voice. And that’s how I ended up crying in the middle of the kids say the darndest things segment.
That deserved a best for sure. I thought it went on a little too long but the end where they all knew Chadwick Boseman made up for it
I thought it was a great show. A little cringy during some parts. I think we could all without that French bit with Keenan Thompson and Maya Rudolph. Two things I noticed:
Did anyone else see that Kate Hudson’s nipple almost came out of her dress? Also, I thought I saw Mark Ruffalo’s wife trying to get him to wrap it up. Did anyone else see that?
I thought the Catherine O’Hara bits were amusing (and I did think she was scrolling through her phone on purpose there but maybe I give too much credit…)
The kids talking about Chadwick Boseman made me sob. It just shows what an impact he made on everyone, especially those kids who clearly look up to him. I miss him so such.
Fonda nailed it perfectly…other wise, the show was totally BORING and TOO LONG…but not as DULL and down-right AUFULL as the EMMY show.
Can’t believe “Hamilton” didn’t win over Borat movie! Duh!