I am surprised to say that a fairly decent awards show followed Jimmy Fallon’s pathetic attempts to make up for his part in getting Donald Trump elected as our next president. The Golden Globes are often dissed as a lesser version of the Oscars, but, the night is set up in such a way that actors, directors, and writers can speak their minds without too much fear of pushback. It is a fairly relaxed atmosphere (the drinks help) and this year we had some of the best speeches in any awards shows of recent memory.

There were some surprises, like Aaron Taylor Johnson’s Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture Drama Award for Tom Ford’s Nocturnal Animals and Isabelle Huppert’s Best Actress in a Motion Picture Drama Award for Elle. Huppert was up against Natalie Portman’s performance in Jackie and Amy Adams’s performance in Arrival. It was not surprising, however, to see that Damien Chazelle’s La La Land swept the Musical/Comedy categories: Best Score, Song, Screenplay, Director, Actor and Actress (for Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone) and Best Picture.

Barry Jenkins’s Moonlight got very little love until it nabbed the Best Motion Picture Drama award at the very end of the night. The black American presence was strong, however, as Tracee Ellis Ross won Best Actress in a TV Musical/Comedy, Donald Glover’s won Best Series and Best Actor TV Series Musical/Comedy for Atlanta, and Denzel Washington’s adaptation of August Wilson’s play Fences won Viola Davis an award for Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture.

The two best speeches of the night were delivered back-to-back as the incomparable Viola Davis eloquently and powerfully introduced Meryl Streep as the recipient of the Cecil B. DeMille Award for Lifetime Achievement. Who else but Meryl, seriously? Meryl Streep, perhaps our greatest living actor, had lost her voice after her weekend of lamentation in losing her dear friends Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds. It wouldn’t have mattered, however, if Ms. Streep had been struck mute. She would have found a way to communicate her powerful speech in which, with no shame, she called Donald Trump out for his mocking of an individual with a disability. As one of the most powerful women in the world, it means something when she speaks, and I will tell you right now, we fucking listened. Thank you, Meryl. Thank you for your amazing body of work and your exceptional integrity and eloquence.

At tonight's #GoldenGlobes we honor Hollywood legend Meryl Streep with the prestigious Cecil B. Demille Award. pic.twitter.com/dxpeCDNXY6

— Golden Globe Awards (@goldenglobes) January 9, 2025

All in all, it was a night in which actors, filmmakers, and creatives spoke about unity and called out the absurdity of living in a country in which Donald Fucking Trump can be our president. It was a prophetic night. We were reminded, gracefully, of the power of the arts to change lives and shape the world. Even Disney’s Zootopia, one of the best animated films in years, won Best Animated Motion Picture, and that film is a testament to our nation’s diversity and the power of acceptance and reconciliation. It is, as I have said before, a “fuzzy middle finger” to Donald Trump and his preposterous cabinet.

Below is a list of the night’s winners:

Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture – Aaron Taylor Johnson Nocturnal Animals

Best Actor in a TV Drama – Billy Bob Thornton Goliath

Best Actress in a TV Comedy – Tracee Ellis Ross Blackish

Best TV Series Comedy/Musical – Atlanta

Best Actress Limited Series or TV Movie – Sarah Paulson The People vs. OJ Simpson: American Crime Story

Best Limited Series or TV Movie – The People vs. OJ Simpson: American Crime Story

Best Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or TV Movie – Hugh Laurie The Night Manager

Best Score in a Motion Picture – Justin Hurwitz La La Land

Best Original Song – “City of Stars” La La Land

Best Supporting Actress Motion Picture – Viola Davis Fences

Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Limited Series, or TV Movie – Olivia Colman The Night Manager

Best Actor in a Comedy/Musical – Ryan Gosling La La Land

Best Screenplay, Motion Picture – Damien Chazelle La La Land

Best Animated Motion Picture – Zootopia

Best Foreign Language Film – Elle (France)

Best Actor in a Limited Series/TV Movie – Tom Hiddleston The Night Manager

Best Actress in a TV Series Drama – Claire Foy The Crown

Best TV Series Drama – The Crown

Meryl Streep – Cecil B. DeMille Award (2 Best Speeches of the night – Viola Davis and Meryl Streep)

Best Director Motion Picture – Damien Chazelle La La Land

Best Actor TV Series Comedy/Musical – Donald Glover Atlanta

Best Actress Motion Picture Musical/Comedy – Emma Stone La La Land

Best Motion Picture Musical/Comedy – La La Land

Best Actor Motion Picture Drama – Casey Affleck Manchester By the Sea

Best Actress in a Motion Picture Drama – Isabelle Huppert Elle

Best Motion Picture Drama – Moonlight

Joey Armstrong is a hospital chaplain from Western New York. He is also a playwright and amateur cartoonist. Follow him on Twitter @chaplainmystic and Medium, where he writes more reviews for film and television.

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