Hollywood waved the white flag in the culture war on Sunday.
This recap of the 82nd Golden Globe Awards will undoubtedly upset some in the movie capital. us? Conceding the moral high ground for President-elect Donald J. Trump and his supporters? never
They can point—quite a bit—to the films winning awards on Sunday. “Emilia Perez,” which has been awarded four Globes, is a Spanish-language musical about trans identity. “The Brutalist,” which received three, is an epic about the struggles of immigrants. “Conclave,” winner of best screenplay, is about the election of a Mexican, intersex pope. “Wicked,” which won a new best blockbuster award, is about prejudices and the corruption of power.
But the Globes have never been about subtlety. The Globes is where the stars supposedly let it rip, where they proselytize to progressive causes and concerns. Sunday’s show was Hollywood’s first megaphone since Mr Trump was comfortably elected to a second term. And this time, there was barely a peep about it.
In 2017, Meryl Streep powerfully ripped Mr. Trump from the Globes stage. Throwing down the gauntlet For a new kind of culture war. The following year, the Globes became a de facto rally for the Time’s Up movement, with dozens of actresses wearing black to protest sexual harassment and Oprah Winfrey delivering a barnburner of a speech. In 2020, Michelle Williams made an impassioned plea for abortion rights, while Russell Crowe drew attention to Australia’s climate change and bushfire crisis.
Black Lives Matter, the global refugee crisis and vegetarianism have all been featured on the Globes stage. In 2023, Globes gave airtime to the president of Ukraine. Vladimir ZelenskyWho spoke in condemnation of Russia.
During the official red carpet pre-show, the hosts kept the conversation tied to cotton candy: You are beautiful, I am beautiful, the weather is beautiful, everything is beautiful. “It’s Sunday afternoon, and the sun is out,” Felicity Jones told an interviewer. “Not much to complain about.”
During his monologue to open the show, comedian Nicky Glazer gently teased the assembled celebrities about getting Mr. Trump back in office. Couldn’t stop coming. “That’s right,” he said. “You’ll get them next time – if there is one.” She smiled and added, “I’m scared,” before changing the subject to Ben Affleck’s sex life.
The only other political commentary of note came three hours later, when “Emilia Perez” won the Globe for best musical or comedy. The film’s star, Carla Sophia Gascon, used the moment to speak out for trans rights. “You can beat us,” he said. “But you can never take away our souls.”
“Raise your voice,” he added.
Maybe the lack of politics on Sunday’s show isn’t so surprising. Many of Mr. Trump’s opponents are still figuring out how to push back against him and his administration. And there has even been a slight shift to the right by Hollywood, to purge the most progressive edges of some shows and select more films that speak to Mr. Trump’s base.
Before the Globes, some publicists and agents advised clients to keep quiet about Mr. Trump and pointed to Rachel Ziegler as a cautionary example. After the election in November, Mrs. Ziegler, the young star of Disney’s upcoming live-action “Snow White,” slammed Mr. Trump and his supporters in a social media post. MAGA’s blowback was severe, and Ms. Ziegler was. Forced to apologize.
And for the people behind the Globes, perhaps the silence was welcome. Producers who specialize in awards telecasts say the research, compiled primarily from Nielsen, indicates that viewers dislike it when celebrities turn stage visits into political banter. are Minute-by-minute viewership analysis shows that “large numbers” of people turn off the television when celebrities start voicing their opinions on politics.
He recalled a time decades ago, when stars worked to be stars, turned on the attention and said nothing that would alienate a ticket buyer. The message came through loud and clear.