Golden Globes 2021: From Brits dominating to lack of diversity, what happened at the 2021 ceremony
The evening began with biting jokes and ended with a triumph for ‘Nomadland’
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Your support makes all the difference.The 2021 Golden Globes took place semi-virtually on Sunday 28 February, with Tina Fey and Amy Poehler hosting a modified ceremony owing to the coronavirus pandemic.
Both hosts performed their duties from separate cities, on opposite coasts. Fey was in New York at the Rainbow Room, a famous venue located at 30 Rockefeller Plaza (an address also known as 30 Rock, after which Fey’s sitcom was named). Amy Poehler hosted from Los Angeles.
Fey and Poehler were present in person, as were award presenters including Awkwafina, Joaquin Phoenix, Tiffany Haddish, Angela Bassett, and Margot Robbie. Nominees, however, attended remotely, and winners delivered their acceptance speeches via video link.
The ceremony marked a strong night for British performers. Daniel Kaluuya (Judas and the Black Messiah) and John Boyega (Small Axe) were among the ceremony’s early winners, taking home the trophies for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture and Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Miniseries, or Motion Picture for TV, respectively.
Emma Corrin took Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Drama for her uncanny portrayal of Diana in The Crown, while Josh O’Connor won in the men’s category for his part as Prince Charles. The Crown had two more wins: one for the show itself, in the Best Television Series – Drama category, and one for American actor Gillian Anderson, voted Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Miniseries, or Motion Picture Made for Television for her portrayal of Margaret Thatcher.
Read more: Golden Globes 2021 winners: The full list
Rosamund Pike earned the award for Best Actress – Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy for her chilling work in I Care a Lot, while Sacha Baron Cohen took home Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for his daring role in Borat Subsequent MovieFilm. The film also won Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy.
Anya Taylor-Joy’s performance in The Queen’s Gambit earned her the trophy for Best Actress In A Mini-Series or Motion Picture for TV. The Queen’s Gambit itself was picked for Best Television Motion Picture.
Ahead of Sunday’s ceremony, Time’s Up took the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (the organisation behind the Golden Globes) to task in a tweet that read, “A cosmetic fix isn’t enough,” next to an image with the words: “Hollywood Foreign Press Association – Not a single Black member out of 87.”
Many high-profile figures spoke out on the issue during the ceremony, from the two hosts to Jane Fonda, Sterling K Brown, Sacha Baron Cohen, and more. The HFPA said it intends to make some changes, echoing a previous statement that read in part: ““We understand that we need to bring in Black members as well as members from other underrepresented backgrounds, and we will immediately work to implement an action plan to achieve these goals as soon as possible.”
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Chadwick Boseman posthumously won Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama for his work in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. His wife Taylor Simone Ledward delivered a moving acceptance speech on his behalf, saying: “I don’t have his words but we have to take all the moment to celebrate all we love, so thank you, HFPA, for this opportunity to do exactly that.”
Among the high-profile wins of the evening was Chloé Zhao’s success with Nomadland. She became the second woman ever to win the award for Best Director – Motion Picture. The film itself took Best Motion Picture – Drama.
For a full list of winners, you can click here.
Follow the ceremony as it happened with our live blog:
Now’s a good time to revisit Mark Ruffalo’s thank you speech from earlier in the ceremony:
Mark Ruffalo hails end to America’s ‘cruel past’ under Trump in Golden Globes acceptance speech
‘The godly light of decency is breaking through the hideous dark storm we’ve been living through,’ he said
Extremely bittersweet moment: Chadwick Boseman just won the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama for Ma Rainey’s Black Botton. Boseman died aged 45 of colon cancer in August last year. His wife Taylor Simone Ledward is accepting the award on his behalf and giving a tearful speech.
Time for another trophy alert: Chloé Zhao wins Best Director for Nomadland. This year marked the first time ever three women were nominated in the category.
The Queen’s Gambit just won two Golden Globes. Roisin O’Connor wrote about why it’s one of Netflix’s best shows ever:
Why The Queen's Gambit is one of Netflix's best-ever shows
Netflix’s new hit series explores the ways in which women are repressed, and what happens when they are allowed to shine without reprisals, writes Roisin O'Connor
Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo are here as their characters Barb and Star from the film Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar, released earlier this month.
In character, Wiig and Mumolo announce the winner for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy. It’s Borat Subsequent MovieFilm!
Sacha Baron Cohen pointedly thanks “the all-white” HFPA and his “co-star” Rudy Giuliani. (He later salutes his actual co-star Maria Bakalova.)
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