By Izzy Whitaker

On Sunday, January 5, the 77th Golden Globe Awards were broadcast live on NBC from The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California. The Golden Globes are an annual award ceremony that honors the best television and movie performances from the past year, as decided by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. This year, the ceremony was hosted by comedian, actor, writer, and producer Ricky Gervais.

One of the most notable awards at the ceremony was The Carol Burnett Award, which was awarded to Ellen DeGeneres for her “outstanding contributions to the television medium on or off the screen.” DeGeneres was the second recipient of the award, with Burnett, as the award’s namesake, being the first winner in 2019. Lorenzo Soria, Hollywood Foreign Press Association president, said in a statement as quoted on CNN, “From her sitcoms, to stand-up, to becoming a household staple on daytime television, [DeGeneres] is a pioneer who has captivated audiences for nearly 25 years with her undeniable charm and wit. In addition to her television success, she’s an advocate and philanthropist, lending her voice to those who don’t have one, and spreading kindness and joy through the power of her platform.” DeGeneres has been hosting The Ellen DeGeneres Show, a popular talk show, for 17 years, and she has a “dazzling array of celebrity interviews, an eclectic mix of musical performances and ordinary people with extraordinary stories and talents… The Ellen DeGeneres Show creates a fun and unpredictable alternative in daytime television and takes a fresh look at the world according to Ellen,” according to her show’s website. Off the screen, DeGeneres is an avid activist for LGBTQ+ rights. 

Another notable award was The Cecil B. deMille Award, won by actor, writer, and producer Tom Hanks. The Cecil B. deMille Award, as described by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, is “a special, prestigious award for outstanding contributions to the world of entertainment.” Soria said in a statement to the Hollywood Reporter, “For more than three decades, [Hanks] has captivated audiences with rich and playful characters that we’ve grown to love and admire. As compelling as he is on the silver screen, he’s equally so behind the camera as a writer, producer and director. We’re honored to include Mr. Hanks with such luminaries as Oprah Winfrey, George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Martin Scorsese, and Barbra Streisand, to name a few.”

Out of the 27 awards won, there were a few that stood out. The four most notable awards were Best Motion Picture – Drama, won by the film 1917; Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, won by the film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood; Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama, won by Renée Zellweger for her portrayal of Judy Garland in the film Judy; and Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama, won by Joaquin Phoenix for his portrayal of Arthur Fleck, or the Joker, in the film Joker. 

Despite the numerous and prestigious awards, the most memorable moment from The Golden Globes was the opening monologue, delivered by Ricky Gervais. Gervais delivered a fearless, yet painstakingly uncomfortable and targeted monologue directed at the ceremony itself, the actors being presented, and other members of pop culture. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Gervais started off the speech by attacking the Hollywood Foreign Press when he said, “many talented people of color were snubbed in major categories. Unfortunately, there’s nothing we can do about that. Hollywood Foreign Press are all very racist.” 

He then began to attack the streaming services, such as Apple, Amazon, and Disney, when he said, “Apple roared into the TV game with The Morning Show, a superb drama about the importance of dignity and doing the right thing, made by a company that runs sweatshops in China. Well, you say you’re woke but the companies you work for in China — unbelievable. Apple, Amazon, Disney. If ISIS started a streaming service, you’d call your agent, wouldn’t you?” 

According to NBC News, since Gervais’s controversial 2016 Golden Globes monologue, “Gervais has developed a ‘tell it like it is’ attitude, which is a really nice way of saying he expresses his opinions (and bigotry) as fact.” Gervais commented on his 2016 monologue when he said in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter’s Piya Sinha-Roy, “that first time I did it, [I thought], ‘Do I pander to the 200 privileged egos in the room, or do I try and entertain a global audience of 200 million people sitting at home who aren’t winning awards?'” 

While many people reacted in disdain towards Gervais’s monologue in both 2016 and 2020, he stood on stage and delivered his speech with pride, keeping in mind his primary goal to entertain a wider range, global audience.