From Borat's thank you to 'all-white HFPA' to John Boyega's absolute shock, here are the best moments from the Golden Globes 2021
Kicking off the Golden Globes awards ceremony in a manner that was relatable to everyone who has attended a Zoom meeting over the last one year as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, actor Daniel Kaluuya, who won the Best Supporting Actor award for his performance in the movie Judas and the Black Messiah, made most of his speech when he was on mute.
He finally realised it and unmuted himself while saying, “Is this on? Can you hear me now?”
Daniel also paid tribute to significant Black people in his winning speech: Rapper Nipse Hussle, who was shot in 2019, and activist Fred Hampton. “The great Nipsey Hussle says, ‘We are here to give until we are empty.’ I couldn’t give it to a more noble man - that’s chairman Fred Hampton - and I hope generations after this can see how brilliantly he fought, how brilliantly he spoke and how brilliantly he loved. He taught me about myself, made me grow as a man and I appreciate it with all my heart.”
Meanwhile, taking a dig at the Hollywood Foreign Press Association right from his first sentence, actor Sacha Baron Cohen, who won the award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy) for his role in Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, thanked the “all-white Hollywood Foreign Press”.
The HFPA, which is the body that is in charge of the Golden Globes ceremony and chooses the list of winners for awards, is currently under fire for the lack of racial diversity among its 87-member group.
Sacha then went on to thank other members from his cast and his wife, Isla Fisher, who was sitting next to him during the virtual speech.
On the other hand, actor Josh O’Connor, who won the Golden Globes Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Drama for the Netflix series The Crown, appealed to people during his acceptance speech to “put mental health at the forefront of our minds” during these tough times.
He said, “I am very lucky to be able to work in this period (the pandemic), and there are so many people who are unable to work, and are alone and isolated. I hope that we can all collectively put mental health at the forefront of our minds.”
He also thanked his parents for their support, his cast and other members from the crew, including writer of The Crown, Peter Morgan, and actor Emma Corrin, who won the Best Actress award for her role in The Crown.
Josh had portrayed the role of Charles, Prince of Wales in Season 3 of the series and reprised the role for Season 4.
John Boyega, who had won the Best Supporting Actor award in Steve McQueen’s television series Small Axe, said he was absolutely shocked that he received a Golden Globe award.
He even went on to reveal that he had been completely laid back about the affair since he was not expecting anything, by saying he was wearing track pants beneath his pristine white suit. “I thought it was gonna be one of them nights where… you go to your bed and just chill,” Boyega said as he lifted his leg up to show his track pants.
“I’ve got Balenciagas, guys. I’ve got tracking bottoms on my bottoms that I’m comfortable (in), but this is exciting,” he added.
Boyega expressed gratitude to director McQueen and the cast and crew of the miniseries. He also thanked the HFPA. He then said, “I’m absolutely shocked. I don’t even know what to say.”
Jane Fonda, who received the Cecil B. DeMille award for her contribution to the arts and music, called for better leadership in Hollywood to make sure everyone's stories are told.
“You see, stories have a way to... they can change our hearts and our minds. They can help us see each other in a new light. To have empathy. To recognize that, for all our diversity, we are humans first, right?
“You know, I’ve seen a lot of diversity in my long life and at times I’ve been challenged to understand some of the people I’ve met. But inevitably, if my heart is open, and I look beneath the surface, I feel kinship,” she explained.
Jane also explained what it was like to understand the meaning of ‘diversity’ in the truest sense through some of the movies that were nominated for this year’s awards.
“Just this year, Nomadland helped me feel love for the wanderers among us. And Minari opened my eyes to the experience of immigrants dealing with the realities of life in a new land. Judas and the Black Messiah, Small Acts, US vs. Billie Holiday, Ma Rainey, One Night in Miami, and others have deepened my empathy for what being Black has meant.
“Ramy helped me feel what it means to be Muslim American. I May Destroy You has taught me to consider sexual violence in a whole new way. The documentary All In reminds us how fragile our democracy is and inspires us to fight to preserve it. A Life on Our Planet shows us how fragile our small blue planet is and inspires us to save it and ourselves,” Jane pointed out.
In what appeared to be a reference to the lack of diversity at the HFPA, Jane also said, “Stories: They really, they really can change people. But there’s a story we've been afraid to see and hear about ourselves in this industry. A story about which voices we respect and elevate -- and which we tune out.
“A story about who is offered a seat at the table and who is kept out of the rooms where decisions are made. So let’s all of us -- including all the groups that decide who gets hired and what gets made and who wins awards -- let us all of us make an effort to expand that tent. So that everyone rises and everyone’s story has a chance to be seen and heard.
“I mean, doing this simply means acknowledging what’s true. Being in step with the emerging diversity that’s happening because of all those who marched and fought in the past and those who have picked up the baton today.
“After all, art has always been not just in step with history, but has led the way,” she concluded.