All this year’s Golden Globes ceremony highlights
Margot Robbie lost out on one of the Golden Globes’ big awards - but it was fellow loser Jennifer Lawrence’s antics that caused a stir.
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Oppenhiemer, Succession, The Bear and Beef were among the biggest winners at the 81st annual Golden Globe Awards, held in Los Angeles today.
Earlier, celebs walked the red carpet outside the The Beverly Hilton - and Aussie Barbie star Margot Robbie was a standout, stepping out once more in full Barbie pink.
Here are the best (and worst) moments from throughout the ceremony, including some of the most notable wins...
Jennifer Lawrence’s hilarious “dummy spit”
First, the bad news for Margot Robbie fans: She didn’t win the Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy Award, for her titular role in Barbie. That went to Emma Stone for Poor Things - who rubbed salt in the wound by attempting a pretty rubbish Australian accent during her acceptance speech.
Also nominated in the same category, Jennifer Lawrence, who mock-angrily mouthed the words: “IF I DON’T WIN, I”M LEAVING” during her few seconds on screen.
— media (@mediaforone) January 8, 2024
A pretend dummy spit? That’s a pretty ingenious way of skipping out of the rest of the ceremony and getting to the afterparty early.
Aussies win big
Robbie might have gone home empty-handed, but the two other Aussies nominated for big awards both emerged victorious: Elizabeth Debicki took out Best Supporting Actress in a Limited Series for her work as Princess Diana in The Crown, and later, Sarah Snook won Best Actress in a TV Series - Drama for her role as Shiv on Succession. “This room is so intimidating!” the Aussie new mum squealed as she accepted her award.
Last-minute host’s jokes fall flat
Last-minute host Jo Koy landed the Golden Globes gig just two weeks ago, amid reports that few comics in Hollywood were interested in hosting. Koy revealed this week that he had just nine days to write his jokes for the ceremony and get up to speed on all the major nominees.
Koy, 52, has a number of Comedy Central and Netflix stand-up specials, but he’s certainly a lesser-known name than past hosts like Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, Ricky Gervais, Jimmy Fallon or Seth Meyers.
But it was a bumpy opening monologue for the last-minute host. Koy earned some early laughs when he jokingly complained that the super-long Oppenheimer “needed another hour,” and quipped that his new year’s resolution was to finish the film by the end of 2024.
But his jokes about the year’s biggest hit Barbie fell flat, as he joked that the movie was just about a “plastic doll with big boobs.”
Amid polite giggles, the camera cut to Barbie director Greta Gerwig and Ryan Gosling, neither of whom looked particularly impressed.
There was also a bit about feeling like a creep as a viewer, being attracted to a plastic doll, with the kicker being that he was referring to Ken: “Margot, it’s not always about you,” he said, as cameras cut to the Aussie star.
“The key moment in Barbie is when she goes from perfect beauty to bad breath, cellulite and flat feet. Or what casting directors call ‘character actor’,” Koy said.
The muted reaction to those jokes made Koy backtrack, as he protested that he hadn’t written all his own jokes - only the ones people had laughed at.
“I got the gig ten days ago and you wanted a perfect monologue?” he asked the crowd.
Perhaps not, but at least not one that was “painful to watch”, according to some on social media.
Imagine the only takeaway from #Barbie was that she’s a “doll with big boobs†… do better. #GoldenGlobes
— Rachael 🫶| PBGH N1 (@rachaelmichelex) January 8, 2024
Oh yay a man who reduces Barbie to a plastic doll with big boobs. That whole bit was so insulting. #GoldenGlobes
— Tracee (@TraceeM) January 8, 2024
who tf is this guy “i got this job 10 days ago… some of the jokes i wrote some i didn’t†are u kidding me???? and reducing Barbie down to big boobs???? went right over his head obviously… #GoldenGlobes
— char (@charlottebrunsc) January 8, 2024
The awkward silence at Jo Koy’s Barbie jokes… He told smart jokes about the other nominees and all he had about Barbie was “big boobs.†#GoldenGlobespic.twitter.com/oERCHqb7Tw
— Raven Brunner (@raventbrunner) January 8, 2024
These Barbie jokes were awful, Ryan gosling is not amused #GoldenGlobes#GoldenGlobes2024
— Danielle (@danielleamen) January 8, 2024
Elsewhere, Koy took aim at Succession: “The one thing this show taught me is if you’re a billionaire - pull out. They’re not going to be like you.” Cue more polite chuckles.
He said it was a show about a “rich, white, dysfunctional family all scheming... oh wait, that’s The Crown.”
There was also a joke at the expense of Taylor Swift, in attendance: “The big difference between the Golden Globes and the NFL? On the Golden Globes, we have fewer camera shots of Taylor Swift,” Koy said. Ironically, the camera then cut to Swift - who didn’t seem too thrilled:
Much-talked-about movie Saltburn also got an awkward shout-out, with Koy singling out actor Barry Keoghan - who bares all in the film - to ask “where his penis is seated” for the ceremony. Overall, it definitely felt like an opening monologue that had been thrown together at the last minute.
NYT reporter Nicole Sperling gave some tantalising goss from inside the room as the celeb-filled crowd reacted to Koy’s cringeworthy monologue:
Wowee. Never seen an audience rebel against an emcee so quickly. One prominent director just couldn’t keep his opinion quiet. “They all showed up. They are all here and this is what they give us? This is a disaster.†#GoldenGlobes2024
— Nicole Sperling (@nicsperling) January 8, 2024
The vibe in that room right now. Everyone HATES him
— sam greisman (@SAMGREIS) January 8, 2024
Harrison Ford seemed over it in this blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment caught on camera:
HARRISON FORD AFTER ONE OF JO KOY'S JOKES PLEASE 💀💀💀 #GoldenGlobespic.twitter.com/Z9d72rK94S
— maddie (@maddiecar_) January 8, 2024
The funniest presenters
As expected, comedians Kristen Wiig and Will Ferrell were the night’s funniest presenting duo, as their serious award speech kept getting interrupted by a quirky little instrumental motif - which they both found themselves powerless against, breaking out in dance each time, much to their own frustration.
Both fumed that the Globes had set them up by playing their “favourite song” while they had serious work to do. “The Golden Globes have NOT changed!” Ferrell yelled. “It smells like hot sushi in here,” he added in disgust, referencing the dinner celebs had been served earlier in the evening.
It was all deeply silly nonsense that probably would’ve bombed in just about anybody else’s hands - can these two host next year, please?
Other notable winners
Da’Vine Joy Randolph took out the night’s first award, for Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture for her work in The Holdovers. Robert Downey Jr won Best Supporting Actor for his role in Oppenheimer, which also went on to win the night’s final award: Best Motion Picture - Drama.
“I took a beta blocker, so this is going to be a breeze,” he quipped as he took to the stage.
Two big TV awards went next, with Ali Wong and Steven Yeun winning the Best Actress and Actor in a Limited Series awards for their performances in the acclaimed Netflix series Beef, which later on was named Best Limited Series.
Cillian Murphy won Best Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama for Oppenheimer, making a joke about director Christopher Nolan’s infamous habit of not providing seats for his actors to rest between takes. First-time nominee Lily Gladstone won Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama for Killers of the Flower Moon. The Native American actress opened her speech by speaking some of her Blackfeet language, noting that hers was a “historic” win.”
Succession standout Matthew Macfadyen took out the Best Supporting Actor in a Limited Series award. His co-star Kieran Culkin won the Best Actor in a Television Drama, and Succession also took out the award for Best Television Drama, a nice way to cap off the show’s acclaimed fourth and final season.
So-hot-right-now actor Jeremy Allen White won Best Actor in a TV Series - Musical or Comedy for his starring role in The Bear. His co-star Ayo Edebiri won the same award in the female category, while The Bear itself won Best TV Series - Musical or Comedy.
Christopher Nolan won the Best Director award for Oppenheimer, and told a touching story about how the only previous time he’d accepted a Golden Globe was posthumously for late Aussie actor Heath Ledger.
Originally published as All this year’s Golden Globes ceremony highlights
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