After the infamous exposé by the Los Angeles Times caused the cancellation of the 2022 Golden Globes, the awards show made a return on January 10 with fresh and diverse nominees.

Bouncing Back from the LA Times Exposé

Why were the Golden Globes boycotted last year? The exposé listed Norwegian journalist Kjersti Flaa, who accused the HFPA (Hollywood Foreign Press Association) in a lawsuit condemning them for encouraging a “culture of corruption” and the lack of diversity, having no black members in its 87-member board of entertainment journalists. Flaa also questioned the ethics of the association, detailing how members took payments and “freebies” (free trips, gifts, exclusive invitations into junkets, parties, and dinners, etc.), essentially bribes, from the largest studios in the business; these were the same studios that won trophies for their films.

For this very reason, the Golden Globes are considered less prestigious than the Oscars because the board consists of only about 90 critics/journalists. On the other hand, Academy Awards are handed out by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which is made up of over 6,000 of the winners’ own peers and experts in the industry; this is considered the highest honor.

The Golden Globes have been involved in controversies and lawsuits in recent years, including Philip Berk, former HPFA President, who was accused of sexually assaulting Brendan Fraser in 2003, an actor known to have stopped attending the awards show because of it.

Major celebrities have spoken out against the HPFA for their wrongdoings after the release of the exposé, including Scarlett Johansson, Reese Witherspoon, and Mark Ruffalo, to name a few. Tom Cruise has also been infamous for returning his three Golden Globe awards in protest, something the 80th Golden Globes host Jerrod Carmichael mentioned in a joke on Tuesday night.

“Backstage, I found these three Golden Globe awards that Tom Cruise returned… I think maybe we take these three things and exchange them for the safe return of Shelly Miscavige,” Carmichael jokes, naming the leader of Scientology, a cult Tom Cruise is known to be a member of.

Still entrenched in an incriminating scandal, the Golden Globes attempted to make their return to television, hoping to overcome the allegations against the HPFA, but it was met with mixed reactions, even from the talent itself, reasoning that they chose to check off all the boxes rather than be genuine.

“I’m only here because I’m black,” Carmichael said when he began his opening monologue. “One minute, you’re making mint tea at home. Next, you’re invited to be the black face of an embattled white organization.”

Since then, HFPA President Helen Hoehne revealed that she was left “shocked and upset” in a Hollywood Reporter article, explaining it was because of what Carmichael said in his monologue about declining to meet with her before the awards ceremony.

The Golden Globes are just a reminder that Hollywood is a business, motivated by what will bring them the next million. 

Nevertheless, the awards are a celebration of the hard work and accomplishments of those in the industry.

A Recap of the Night

Overall, the “Oscar bait” tragedy The Banshees of Inisherin triumphed over the film categories with 8 nominations, winning 3. In the Television category, comedy series Abbott Elementary won 3 awards out of its 5 nominations, and The White Lotus, one of the hottest shows in the industry right now, won 2 out of its 4 nominations. Both of these shows won “Best Television Series” in their respective categories.

Angela Bassett, Michelle Yeoh, and Jennifer Coolidge won “Best Performance by an Actress” in their respective categories, all of whom mentioned ageism in Hollywood and the years of work they had to accomplish to be remotely recognized, whether it was because of racism or just because of the difficulty of “making it” in the industry.

“It was a dream come true until I got here,” Yeoh said about coming into Hollywood.

“I didn’t know anybody, and it just was sort of this thing that wasn’t going anywhere. Then there were these people who would give me these cute little jobs and it would just be enough to get to the next one,” Coolidge expressed, also thanking The White Lotus creator Mike White for propelling her career forward.

Two individuals were celebrated for their outstanding hard work in the industry. Eddie Murphy was given the Cecil B. DeMille award. Ryan Murphy, who’s won five Golden Globes in his career, was awarded the Carol Burnett Award and spent his speech spotlighting other emerging talent, primarily those that are part of the LGBTQ+ community, that he’s worked with to indicate the changing world and how he wouldn’t be at the stage he is without others’ hard work.

Zendaya, Cate Blanchett, and Amanda Seyfried, who all won Globes, were not there to claim their award.

Laura Linney was beaten out by Zendaya for Euphoria in the “Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Drama” category. This is the 2nd time Laura Linney has been nominated for her performance in Ozark, the ninth time including the Emmys, Academy Awards, and Screen Actors’ Guild Awards, though she has never won. Julia Garner did win for her role as Ruth Langmore in Ozark this year for the category “Best Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Television Series.”

Below is a list of every winner from the award shows’ 27 categories:

WINNERS

Film

Best Motion Picture — Drama

The Fabelmans

Best Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy

The Banshees of Inisherin

Best Motion Picture — Non-English Language

Argentina, 1985

Best Motion Picture — Animated

Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio

Best Director — Motion Picture

Steven Spielberg, The Fabelmans

Best Screenplay — Motion Picture

Martin McDonagh, The Banshees of Inisherin

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture — Drama

Austin Butler, Elvis

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture — Drama

Cate Blanchett, Tár

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy

Colin Farrell, The Banshees of Inisherin

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy

Michelle Yeoh, Everything Everywhere All at Once

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture

Ke Huy Quan, Everything Everywhere All at Once

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture

Angela Bassett, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Best Original Score — Motion Picture

Justin Hurwitz, Babylon

Best Original Song — Motion Picture

“Naatu Naatu” by M.M. Keeravani, Kala Bhairava, Rahul Sipligunj from RRR

Television

Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy

Abbott Elementary

Best Television Series – Drama

House of the Dragon

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Drama

Kevin Costner, Yellowstone

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Drama

Zendaya, Euphoria

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy

Quinta Brunson, Abbott Elementary

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy

Jeremy Allen White, The Bear

Best Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Television Series

Tyler James Williams, Abbott Elementary

Best Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Television Series

Julia Garner, Ozark

Best Television Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

The White Lotus

Best Performance by an Actor in a Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

Evan Peters, Dahmer — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story

Best Performance by an Actress in a Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

Amanda Seyfried, The Dropout

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

Jennifer Coolidge, The White Lotus

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

Paul Walter Hauser, Black Bird