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74th Golden Globe Awards | Highlights

Sunday 8th January saw the live broadcast of the 74th Golden Globe Awards, hosted by popular talk show presenter and comedian Jimmy Fallon.


The show began with a line-up of stars led by Fallon in an elaborate musical opening on the red carpet. Nicole Kidman - now known to Fallon fans as ‘the one who got away’, joined the host as he stepped out of a black limo, singing about wigs and spanks. Amy Adams soon took to his arm, before sharing the screen with Sarah Paulson, John Travolta in a ‘Saturday Night Fever’ position, and ‘Westworld’ star Evan Rachel Wood in character. But the night was only just beginning.

Steve Carell and Kristen Wiig had their celebrity audience in stitches as they recalled unhappy childhood memories before ironically presenting the award for ‘Best Animated Feature’. Wiig’s growing steely yet distant gaze became more prominent as their stories grew in depth, while Carell’s eyes began to well throughout the skit.



The biggest winner of the night was 'La La Land', dominating the film category awards in landslide fashion. Its lead actors gave heartfelt speeches during the course of the night: Emma Stone dedicated her 'Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy' award to those attempting to break into the entertainment industry; and Ryan Gosling thanked partner Eva Mendes for her work behind the scenes, caring for their children and her brother who had recently passed away.


However, it was Meryl Streep's acceptance speech for the 'Cecil B. DeMille Award' that went viral following the ceremony, making headlines worldwide. And what a poignant speech it was.


Remarkably, Streep used her acceptance speech as a platform to eloquently criticise President-elect Donald Trump. Deconstructing her thanks to the Hollywood Foreign Press Association into three parts: Hollywood, Foreign, Press, and elaborating on each part, her speech began with a reference to Trump’s imitation of a disabled New York Times journalist, Serge F. Kovaleski.


Streep sturdily stated, "Disrespect invites disrespect. Violence incites violence. When powerful people use their position to bully, we all lose".Though the reference caused an outcry from Trump supporters, whose retaliation demanded for celebrities like Streep to stay out of politics, it gave viewers food for thought.


Referring to Trump’s infamous attitude towards foreigners and migrants, Streep - a known supporter of diversity in Hollywood, listed a string of actors sitting in the audience, noting their respected place in Hollywood as well as their birth place and hometown – many of which were small-towns dispersed across America or outside of the U.S.A. completely. "Hollywood is crawling with outsiders and foreigners, and if you kick us all out, you'll have nothing to watch except football and mixed martial arts…"


Streep made it clear that despite their role as entertainers, and irrespective of their birthplace, actors have the responsibility to stand up for those without a voice. Well said.


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