Golden Globes: The biggest moments to stun Hollywood
From Oprah’s powerhouse speech to the coming out of a Hollywood A-lister, these are the most gobsmacking moments of the Golden Globes.
Golden Globes
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The Golden Globes is renowned for its scandalous, gobsmacking and epic moments, from political statements about Donald Trump to controversial jokes about Tinseltown’s biggest stars.
Last year’s ceremony was one of the most memorable to date in the era of #MeToo, with Oprah Winfrey’s powerhouse Cecil B DeMille Award monologue blowing every iconic speech from the awards show out of the water.
The billionaire media mogul sparked a worldwide fan campaign for her to run for US president after her rousing speech electrified the Golden Globes, with the hashtag #Oprah2020 going viral on Twitter.
It was an address that will no doubt go down in Globes history, and it joins many other stand out moments over the years proving that when you get Hollywood’s elite all in the one room, it’s bound to be entertaining.
As we countdown to 2019’s big night, here are some of the other big moments.
OPRAH WINFREY AND A BLACK RED CARPET
Winfrey got a standing ovation and captivated the entire world with her epic words.
“For too long, women have not been heard or believed if they dared to speak their truth to the power of those men, but their time is up,” Winfrey told the audience.
“I want tonight to express gratitude to all the women who have endured years of abuse and assault because they, like my mother, had children to feed and bills to pay and dreams to pursue.
“So I want all the girls watching here now to know that a new day is on the horizon.”
There were tears and cheers as the inspirational speech finished, with social media erupting with claims Oprah was making a veiled hint at her presidential campaign.
She has since denied running for the presidency.
It was a powerful night for women all around, who all wore black to protest sexual harassment and raise awareness for Time’s Up, an initiative started by Hollywood in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal.
Meryl Streep, Reese Witherspoon, Oprah, Nicole Kidman, Eva Longoria and Laura Dern were all among the A-list stars to don black at the event.
RICKY GERVAIS ROCKS THE BOAT
The British comic took aim at Charlie Sheen, Angelina Jolie, Cher, and a “certain famous Scientologist” when he hosted the awards in 2011.
“There were a lot of big films that didn’t get nominated this year,” Gervais said onstage, in his catty opening monologue.
“Nothing for Sex and the City 2. I thought for sure the Golden Globes for special effects would go to the team that airbrushed that poster,” Gervais laughed.
“Great job! Girls, we know how old you are. I saw one of you in an episode of Bonanza.”
Speaking to News Corp Australia about hosting the Globes, Gervais later said: “I think America thinks I’m like a shock comedian because I suppose the biggest thing I’ve done in America is the Golden Globes, that’s a huge world audience, and they saw me making fun of their Hollywood icons and heroes, and I think they got the wrong end of the stick”.
JEREMY RENNER GAWKS AT JLO’S CHEST
It would’ve taken a lot of will power, which Jeremy Renner obviously didn’t have in 2015.
When presenting the award for Best Miniseries, Drama during the ceremony, Jennifer Lopez, who was wearing a very revealing gown, asked her co-presenter who should open the envelope to announce the winner. “You want me to do it?” she asked. “I’ve got the nails.” He then took a peek at her chest and said: “You’ve got the globes, too.”
The audience appeared to be in shock but JLo laughed it off at the time.
RENÉE ZELLWEGER’S TOILET BREAK
When Nurse Betty star Renée Zellweger won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy in 2001, she nearly missed her moment.
Zellweger was in the bathrooms wiping “lipstick off my teeth” when Hugh Grant announced her as the winner.
“Renee? Where is she?,” Grant said awkwardly onstage as he waited for her to appear.
“She’s in the bathroom … OK. What do we do?”
Zellweger then made a dramatically late entrance, saying, “Oh my god I had lipstick on my teeth.”
RYAN GOSLING V RYAN REYNOLDS
Hollywood hunk Ryan Gosling played up his friendly rivalry with fellow actor Ryan Reynolds while accepting his Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy gong for La La Land last year.
“This isn’t the first time I’ve been mistaken for Ryan Reynolds … it’s getting out of hand,” Gosling deadpanned.
He also made a rare public reference to his wife, actor Eva Mendes, as he paid tribute to her in his emotional acceptance speech.
“While I was singing and dancing … my lady was raising our daughter, pregnant with our second and trying to help her brother fight his battle with cancer,” Gosling said, of Mendes.
AWARDS CANCELLED IN 2008
Shock horror. The lavish night was actually cancelled due to a writers’ strike.
During the Writers Guild strike in 2008, the HFPA was made the drastic call to cancel the awards ceremony after the nominated actors said they would not cross the Writers Guild picket lines to attend the ceremony- said they would not cross picket lines outside of the ceremony.
“We are all very disappointed that our traditional awards ceremony will not take place this year and that millions of viewers worldwide will be deprived of seeing many of their favorite stars celebrating 2007’s outstanding achievements in motion pictures and television,” Hollywood Foreign Press Association president Jorge Camara said at the time.
It was replaced with a — very boring — televised press conference announcing the winners.
Luckily for organisers this hasn’t happened again.
JACK NICHOLSON’S SHOCK ADMISSION
Not one to censor himself, Hollywood legend Jack Nicholson confessed he was high on Valium while delivering a rambling acceptance speech for his role in About Schmidt, involving a quip about Nicole Kidman’s nose.
“I took a Valium tonight,” Nicholson said at the Golden Globes in 2003.
MERYL STREEP SLAMS TRUMP
Hollywood darling Meryl Streep was awarded the Cecil B DeMille Award at the 2016 Globes, and used her acceptance speech to take aim at the Trump administration.
Streep said Trump’s mocking of a disabled New York Times reporter “broke my heart”.
She also touched on Trump’s controversial immigration policies, saying Hollywood was made up of overseas talent and if he banned them from entering America “you’ll have nothing to watch but football and mixed martial arts, which are not the arts”.
JODIE FOSTER APPEARS TO COME OUT
She is one of Hollywood’s legendary actors and Jodie Foster used her Golden Globes acceptance speech to come out in 2013 … kind of.
While accepting her Cecil B. DeMille Award, Foster told the crowd: “I already did my coming out a thousand years ago”.
“I guess I have a sudden urge to say something that I’ve never been able to air in public that I’m a little nervous about — but maybe not as nervous as my publicist,” Foster said.
“So I’m just going to put it out there, loud and proud, right? I’m going to need your support on this. I am, uh — “
“I’m single,” Foster laughed.
TINA FEY AND AMY POEHLER
In 2014, the comedy duo called out then-serial bachelor George Clooney for his inability to hold down a relationship.
“(Gravity) is the story about how George Clooney would rather float away into space and die rather than spend one more minute with a woman his own age,” Fey said.
They went on to make jokes about Jonah Hill’s penis and ageism in Hollywood.
Originally published as Golden Globes: The biggest moments to stun Hollywood
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