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The Latch

“This Is Really a Fun Night!”: Jennifer Coolidge and the 2023 Golden Globe Highlights

January 11, 2023
jennifer coolidge golden globes 2023
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After a year off the air, the Golden Globes made their return to the air in a live ceremony with Hollywood’s glitziest stars in attendance.

Hosted by comedian Jerrod Carmichael, the ceremony was streamed live on Stan in Australia, marking the streaming platform’s very first live-streamed award show. If you missed the show, don’t fret. It’s available to replay on Stan now.

The show wasted no time addressing the controversy that resulted in the 2022 Golden Globes being a private event with no stars in attendance, with Carmichael skewering the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s racism controversy in his opening monologue.

Leading the nominations this year was Martin McDonagh’s The Banshees of Inisherin. The film had eight nominations, and over the course of the evening, won three awards, including Best Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy, Best Screenplay, and Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy for Colin Farrell.

The Daniels’ Everything Everywhere All At Once followed Banshees with six nominations, and in the end, walked away with two wins. Ke Huy Quan was the first win of the evening when he was awarded Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in Any Motion Picture, and Michelle Yeoh took home Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy later in the evening.

Steven Spielberg’s The Fabelmans scored five nominations, and walked away with two wins, but they were some of the nights’ biggest awards. Spielberg won Best Director, and The Fabelmans was awarded Best Motion Picture — Drama.

Over on the television side of things, Abbott Elementary led the nominees, picking up five nominations, of which it won three. The show won Best Television Series — Musical or Comedy, Quinta Brunson (who is also the show’s creator) won Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy, and Tyler James Williams won Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical-Comedy or Drama Television Series.

Time will tell whether the Golden Globes have done enough to cement their return, but there was plenty to celebrate throughout the night. Here are just some of the highlights from the 80th Annual Golden Globes.

Related: All the 2023 Golden Globe Award Winners

Jerrod Carmichael’s Opening Monologue

Host Jerrod Carmichael opened the show with a scathing monologue that skewered the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s racism scandal.

“I’ll tell you why I’m here: I’m here ‘cause I’m Black,” Carmichael said. “I’ll tell you what’s been going on. This show, the Golden Globe Awards, did not air last year because the Hollywood Foreign Press Association — which I won’t say were a racist organisation, but they didn’t have a single Black member until George Floyd died. So do with that information what you will. I’ll tell you how I got here.”

The host and comedian continued: “One minute you’re making mint tea at home, the next minute you’re invited to be the Black face of an embattled white organisation. Life comes at you pretty fast, you know?

Watch the monologue below:

Related: Jerrod Carmichael Skewers Golden Globes Controversy in Opening Monologue

Colin Farrell Thanking Jenny the Donkey From The Banshees of Inisherin

Colin Farrell took home the award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy for his work in The Banshees of Inisherin, and at the end of his acceptance speech, took time to thank Jenny the Donkey.

“And lastly, Jenny the Donkey,” Farrell said. “She’s having an early retirement because she said ‘f**k this film business, you’re welcome to it! I’m more than done.’ So she’s done.”

Michelle Yeoh Refusing to Be Played Off

After winning Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy for her work in Everything Everywhere All At Once, they tried to play Yeoh off as she was giving her acceptance speech, but she wasn’t having it.

“Shut up please,” she said with a laugh, warning: “I can beat you up, okay? And that’s serious.”

 

Ryan Murphy Honouring MJ Rodriguez’s Win During His Acceptance Speech

Ryan Murphy was awarded the Carol Burnett Award — an honorary Golden Globe for “outstanding contributions to television on or off the screen”.

While accepting his award, Ryan Murphy took the time to give honour to MJ Rodriguez, who starred in Murphy’s show Pose.

Last year, Rodriguez was awarded Best Actress in a TV Drama Series for her work on the show, making history as the first transgender actress to win a Golden Globe, but because the show wasn’t being aired anywhere, Rodriguez did not get the recognition or celebration she deserved.

“A year ago the Golden Globes weren’t televised but the show did go on,” Murphy began. “And I was so thrilled when it was announced that MJ Rodriguez from my show Pose had been awarded Best Actress in a Drama Series.

“In doing so, MJ from Newark, New Jersey, became the first trans actress ever to win a Golden Globe, and I thought ‘wow, how I would have loved for MJ to be on this stage, getting the standing ovation she deserved for making history.

“I’m thrilled to say that MJ is one of my guests tonight, she’s here at my table, so MJ please stand up and let’s give her the ovation that she deserves to hear.”

Jennifer Coolidge, in General

Spoiler Warning: This section contains a spoiler for The White Lotus: Sicily.

While presenting early in the night, she said “and the Oscar goes to” before quickly correcting herself with “oh no no wait! Golden Globe, Golden Globe, Golden Globe”.

Later in the night, Coolidge won Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Limited Series, Anthology Series or Motion Picture Made for Television for her work as Tanya McQuoid in The White Lotus: Sicily, and like her Emmys speech in September, it was perfection.

After putting her Golden Globe down on the stage, Coolidge quipped, “I don’t work out, you know? I can’t hold it that long.”

During her speech, Coolidge was heartfelt and emotional, thanking the people in the room who gave her the “little jobs” that kept her going through the years. This is Coolidge’s first Golden Globe, and her Emmy last September was her first major acting award.

“There were like five people that kept me going for 20 years with these little jobs,” she said, thanking Ryan Murphy for being one of them. It was like, you, Ryan, and — who else was there? It was just you, Ryan!” she exclaimed with a laugh.

Referencing her Emmys acceptance speech — in which they tried to play her off the stage and she danced through it — Coolidge said: “The hook came out at the last thing I got an award at, you know? This giant hook, I thought it left when vaudeville ended! But this hook came out and took me offstage at the Emmys, and I didn’t get to say what I really wanted to say, which is… Mike White.”

Coolidge said that when she was a “younger person”, she “had such big dreams and expectations” but that they got “sort of fizzled by life” before White came and turned things around.

“Mike White, you have given me hope,” she said, as the camera cut to White, who was crying in the audience.

“You’ve given me a new beginning, even though this is the end, you did kill me off, but it doesn’t matter, because even if this is the end, you’ve changed my life in a million different ways, and my neighbours are speaking to me, things like that!

Noting that she was “never invited to one party” before, she’s now getting invites from everyone.

“If you don’t know Mike White, this is what you should know,” she said. “He’s worried about the world, he’s worried about people, he’s worried about friends of his that aren’t doing well or — he’s always worried about people, worried about animals… he really is one of the greatest people I’ve ever met.”

Wrapping up, Coolidge finished her speech with “I just wanna say, this is really a fun night! Thank you! Thank you!”

Mike White’s White Lotus Acceptance Speech

The White Lotus: Sicily won Best Limited Series, and series creator, director and writer Mike White gave a speech to rival Jennifer Coolidge’s.

“Oh my God. I’m still so choked up over Jennifer’s speech!” he began.

“I was going to give this speech in Italian, but I’m too drunk,” White said, exclaiming, “because there was no food! The food, when we got there, they were like ‘the food is over, you can’t have anything’… so, um, thank you HBO!”

Stumbling through his thank yous, White thanked the cast and crew on stage with him, announcing that he would take a bullet for them, before adding, “maybe not in the heart, but in the foot, or the leg, or whatever”.

Recalling a time before the massive, global success of The White Lotus, White said: “we went out with a show we wanted to do with me and Jennifer, and everybody passed.”

Eyeing the room, he added, “I know you all passed! You all passed on this show! And so, yes, it’s very gratifying to have this moment!”

Finally, he thanked the Italian crew who’d worked on The White Lotus: Sicily, saying: “Our Italian crew was amazing! You had to be there, but it was amazing!”

The 80th Annual Golden Globes are streaming now on Stan.

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