Oprah Winfrey’s Speech, Time’s Up Solidarity Rule at 75th Golden Globes

By Sameer Rao Jan 08, 2018

Oprah Winfrey’s Speech, Time’s Up Solidarity Rule at 75th Golden Globes

While only a few of this year’s nominees of color actually walked away with gold statues, talk of social justice and equity still dominated the 75th Golden Globe Awards ceremony last night (January 7). 

To start, the majority of women and many men in attendance wore all-Black attire to stand in solidarity with sexual assault survivors. The sartorial choice corresponded with a call from the Time’s Up coalition, whose message of fighting workplace sexual harrassment and gender inequality came through in many presenters’ remarks and various acceptance speeches.

The New York Times reported that several of the activists of color responsible for creating and elevating #MeToo into a global phenomenon, including Tarana Burke and Mónica Ramírez, appeared at the ceremony as the guests of prominent actresses and members of Time’s Up. 

Host Seth Meyers touched on marginalization in the entertainment industry in his opening monologue. He incorporated nominees Issa Rae (“Insecure”) and Hong Chau (“Downsizing”) into one bit that involved him setting up jokes whose punchlines had to be delivered by someone from an oppressed group: 

On the awards front, Sterling K. Brown was the first person of color to win one of the presented honors. He earned the Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series—Drama award for his work on NBC’s “This Is Us." He previously won for the same role at the Emmy Awards, and Buzzfeed reported that he is the first Black man to win in the Globes’ lead TV actor category. He spoke to the importance of depicting a nuanced Black character on primetime television in his acceptance speech:

“Master of None” creator and star Aziz Ansari accepted the Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series—Musical or Comedy. He is the first Desi actor to win in that category. 

On the film side, Mexican filmmaker Guillermo Del Toro earned the Best Director—Motion Picture prize for "The Shape of Water." “Coco,” the first Pixar feature-length film with a protagonist of color, took home the “Best Motion Picture—Animated” award. “In the Fade," a drama by Turkish-German director Fatih Akin about a woman whose Turkish husband and mixed-race child are killed by neo-Nazis, won the “Best Motion Picture—Foreign Language” honor. 

The evening’s most powerful moment came when Oprah Winfrey accepted the Cecil B. DeMille Award for entertainment industry excellence. “It is not lost on me that at this moment, there are some little girls watching as I become the first Black woman to be given [this award]," she remarked during her nine-minute speech. Winfrey also spoke about Recy Taylor and her lifelong quest for justice in the context of the #MeToo movement, turning Taylor’s name into a Twitter trending topic. Watch the full speech below or read a transcript via Harper’s Bazaar.

 

Read the full list of winners and see more speeches at GoldenGlobes.com.

Tags

#MeTooArchiveArts & CultureAziz AnsariGolden GlobesOprah WinfreySterling K. BrownTime's Up