It was an unusually troubled year for the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s annual Golden Globe Awards, and co-hosts Tina Fey and Amy Poehler admitted it up front. Presenting the show remotely from separate coasts — Fey was in New York City’s Rainbow Room, while Poehler was broadcasting from California’s Beverly Hilton — they joked about some of the year’s bigger Golden Globes mini-scandals in their opening. Among this year’s issues: The nomination for Sia’s movie Music provoked some anger because the film had already been heavily criticized for its insensitive portrayal of autism. The nomination for Netflix’s series Emily in Paris met a fair bit of derision because the series was widely hated, but the usual “I don’t like this show, so it shouldn’t have been nominated?” reactions became more scathing after an L.A. Times report revealed that HFPA members had been treated to a lavish junket and set visit promoting the show.
And an even larger controversy arose over the reminder that the HFPA has no Black members, and apparently hasn’t had any for at least 20 years. That became a particular flashpoint given that some of 2020’s critical darlings were ignored in the nominations, particularly Michaela Coel’s nearly universally praised series I May Destroy You.
Fey and Poehler touched on all of it in passing during their opening monologue. They took only the slightest digs at Emily in Paris and Music. (“nominated for Best International Floparoonie… Twitter is saying it’s the most offensive casting since Kate Hudson was the Weight Watchers spokesperson.”) But they took a little more time to address the #GoldenGlobesSoWhite accusations. “We all know that awards shows are stupid,” Fey said. “The point is, even with stupid things, inclusivity is important… HFPA, maybe you guys didn’t get the memo because your workplace is the back booth of a French McDonald’s, but you gotta change that.”
Nonetheless, interest in the Golden Globes persists for awards-watchers, who widely see the Globes as a potential predictor of the year’s Academy Awards. This year’s Oscars will be presented on Sunday, April 25, and it seems likely that at least some of this year’s Globes honorees will turn up again — particularly Chloé Zhao’s Nomadland and Pixar’s Soul.
Here’s the complete list of this year’s Golden Globe winners:
Best Director — Motion Picture
Winner: Chloé Zhao, Nomadland
Other nominees: Emerald Fennell, Promising Young Woman; David Fincher, Mank; Regina King, One Night in Miami; Aaron Sorkin, The Trial of the Chicago 7
Best Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy
Winner: Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
Other nominees: Hamilton; Music; Palm Springs; The Prom
Best Motion Picture — Drama
Winner: Nomadland
Other Nominees: The Father; Mank; Promising Young Woman; The Trial of the Chicago 7
Best Television Series — Drama
Winner: The Crown
Other nominees: Lovecraft Country, The Mandalorian, Ozark, Ratched
Best Television Series — Musical or Comedy
Winner: Schitt’s Creek
Other nominees: Emily in Paris, The Flight Attendant, The Great, Ted Lasso
Best Television Limited Series, Anthology Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Winner: The Queen’s Gambit
Other nominees: Normal People, Small Axe, The Undoing, Unorthodox
Best Actor, Motion Picture — Drama
Winner: Chadwick Boseman, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Other nominees: Riz Ahmed, Sound of Metal; Anthony Hopkins, The Father; Gary Oldman, Mank; Tahar Rahim, The Mauritanian
Best Actor, Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy
Winner: Sacha Baron Cohen, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
Other nominees: James Corden, The Prom; Lin-Manuel Miranda, Hamilton; Dev Patel, The Personal History of David Copperfield; Andy Samberg, Palm Springs
Best Actress, Motion Picture — Drama
Winner: Andra Day, The United States Vs. Billie Holiday
Other nominees: Viola Davis, Ma…
Read More: From Nomadland to Borat, here are the winners of the 2021 Golden Globes