Welcoming the New Year, the 81st Golden Globes aired on January 7th and was held at Beverly Hills’ infamous Beverly Hilton Hotel. With many A-List celebrities on the carpet and in the audience, the awards weren’t all viewers were treated to; the night was filled with drama, style, hesitant laughter at host Jo Koy’s monologue, and heartfelt connections between some of Hollywood’s favorite personalities.

Jo Koy In Hot Water

Despite many asking “Who is Jo Koy?” After his Golden Globe monologue landed him on several headlines, the 52-year-old comedian actually made his debut way before the Golden Globes, even winning Comedian of the Year in 2018. The Today Show reporter Drew Weisholtz shares some of the jokes that have Koy in hot water.

“By the way, the color purple is also what happens to your butt when you take Ozempic.”

“‘Oppenheimer’ is based on a 721-page Pulitzer Prize-winning book based on the Manhattan Project. And ‘Barbie’ is about a plastic doll with big boobies.”

“The big difference between the Golden Globes and the NFL? At the Golden Globes, we have fewer camera shots of Taylor Swift,”

Koy jokingly responded to the hesitant laughs from the audience with “‘Yo, I got the gig 10 days ago. You want a perfect monologue?’” and “‘tough room’” , however what seemed like a forced and rather desperate addition to his monologue too received a lackluster response. Following his quips directed mainly to the women in the audience, Koy has received more than a disapproving look from Taylor but responses from Barbie Director Greta Gerwig and Mean Girls star Reneé Rapp. Zach Sharf from Variety reveals Gerwig’s reaction to Koy’s quip about the movie with “Well, he’s not wrong,” adding, “She’s the first doll that was mass-produced with breasts, so he was right on. And you know, I think that so much of the project of the movie was unlikely because it is about a plastic doll…The insight that Ruth Handler had when she was watching her daughter play with baby dolls, is she realized, ‘My daughter doesn’t want to pretend to be a mother. She wants to pretend to be a grown woman.’” Mila Martin (CdM Junior, ASB member and Swiftie) vehemently addressed that “ this ‘comedian’ was honestly the exact kind of person the Barbie movie was trying to point out and I’m not sure if he just didn’t see the movie, or the entire message flew over his head, but either way he seemed to be a prime example of Barbie’s entire point and message, and that to me was just sad to watch.”

Rapp’s response was similar. Today’s Regina George took to TikTok with her co-stars Angourie Rice, Avantika and Bebe Wood, to share their 2024 Ins and Outs. People’s Kimberlee Speakman reiterated Rapp’s response as she commented: “my out was the man that was making a bunch of jokes about women last night at the Golden Globes.” With a similar view, Martin labels Koy’s performance as “pretty disappointing” following with “especially in a year where women have been making such strides. Martin adds “I wish to know for myself why it’s so easy for people, especially men, to take attention away from women’s achievements and turn them into blatant sexualization.”

Stand-Up Receives a Standing Ovation

One of the two new categories the Golden Globes added to their existing 25 category roster, Best Stand-Up Comedian on Television, was the first award highlighting comedians outside of film. This year’s winner, Ricky Gervais, known for his controversial Netflix special Armageddon is captioned “Ricky Gervais dishes out controversial takes on political correctness and oversensitivity in a taboo-busting comedy special about the end of humanity” on Netflix. Up against TV personalities Trevor Noah, Amy Schumer, Chris Rock, and Sarah Silverman Gervais later celebrated his win with an X post, captioned “I F***ing Won!” Junior Sydney Foster explains that “Comedy is a spectrum and adds a little sparkle to media and everyone can appreciate different applications.” The drama student and member of CdM’s improv class, Foster expressed that “comedy is a very important category to have as it adds balance to dramas. I feel comedy is often overlooked because people associate comedy with most of the time childish media and dumb jokes when there are many different types.” Foster comments “[as someone who has] been doing improv once I started high school and I have found that it has helped my confidence with choices I make on stage and has helped me grow in my acting style.”

Fun and Games

Amongst other familiar faces, Jennifer Lawrence made an appearance at the Golden Globes. Lawrence has been applauded by social media, namely because of a viral video of her mouthing “If I don’t win, I’m leaving” as she waited for the winner of Musical or Comedy Motion Picture to be announced. Though she was not awarded for her role as Maddie in No Hard Feelings, she did not hesitate to leap from her seat to cheer on Emma Stone and her performance in Poor Things. Junior Bailey Kuo noted “I loved the expression Jennifer Lawrence made when Emma Stone won. I think I can say for everyone that the moment made me smile”

Likewise, Emma Stone, when interviewed regarding her feelings on how Taylor Swift “applauded her best actress win at the 2024 Golden Globes” reports Us Weekly, to which Stone jokingly replied “What an a-hole, am I right?” It seems the trio all worked to uplift one another at the event, so while many felt the Golden Globes host lacked, Swift, Stone, and Lawrence provided–as shown by the flood of Tik Tok traction these lighthearted moments are receiving.

And Strut. And Strut. And Pose. 

The Golden Globes not only recognizes incredible achievements in film and television, it also serves as an eye-catching runway for celebrities in attendance. Celebrities embraced a variety of different styles ranging from beloved classics to unconventional and bold designs that pushed boundaries of traditional red carpet fashion. Vibrant colors, extravagant layers, and unexpected patterns took the spotlight and became a hot topic over numerous social media platforms. Kuo mentioned Elizabeth Debicki from The Crown and highlighted her outfit choice as one of her favorites of the night! Kuo stated, “I Loved Elizabeth’s dress, it was simple but still caught my eye.” In response to a Trident Magazine survey on Instagram, students cast their votes on some favorites of the night, including some dazzling looks! Stars like Margot Robbie, the lead actress in the Barbie movie, took a whopping 79% of the vote with her hot pink, sequined dress. Some other student-voted favorites included Selena Gomez, Taylor Swift, Dua Lipa, and Berry Keoghan.

All They Do is Win

This annual event presents awards in 27 categories encompassing both movies and television. Exciting nominations and anticipated winners of the night are recognized for their diverse talents that have graced people’s screens over the past year. When asked about some favorite winners of this year’s Globes, Kuo responded with, “Jeremy Allen White, Emma Stone, Steven Yeun, and the Barbie Movie.” The Golden Globes are a spectacle of achievement, though with competition there will always be disagreements online, including on CdM Trident’s survey. Categories like Best OG Song, Best TV Drama, Box Office Achievement, and Best Animated Picture were voted on, displaying some different opinions than the resulting winners as well as some of the same. Best OG Song went to Billie Eilish’s “What Was I Made For” in this year’s Box Office Achievement, as well as the majority-voted movie, Barbie. The Best TV Drama was awarded to Succession, despite the highest votes amongst students going to The Crown. Lastly, Best Animated Picture ended up going to The Boy and the Heron, opposed to the majority of CdM’s votes picking Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. Despite any differences in opinion, nominees applauded one another as winners of each category took to the stage to deliver speeches showing their appreciation and hard work!

As the curtain drew on the 2024 Golden Globes, it left behind another year of unforgettable memories (some better to be left behind) and acknowledgements towards well-deserving creators and stars of on-screen favorites. Many winning speeches carried with them a message on social awareness and brought previously untalked topics to the front and center. Outstanding contributions to the world of film and television stood in the spotlight and inspired a new year of cinematic and televised brilliance to come!