Last night at the Golden Globes it was a sea of darkness. About a week before the event we started hearing that the women attending were going to stand together and wear black as a show for solidarity for the #MeToo and Times Up Movement. Not only did the ladies stand together but the men showed their support as well. That support and message didn’t just show up on the bodies of the people attending but was shown throughout the show and on the red carpet as well. Here are my take-a-ways from the event.
On the red carpet women were finally free of being asked “Who are you wearing?” and “Tell me about your look.” Instead better questions were asked like “Why are YOU wearing black tonight?” “Tell me how you feel about being nominated?” “What changes do you want to see?” I think this was a welcome change, women so often at these events are asked about their clothing instead of what they accomplished to be there. I hope to see this trend continue on the red carpets of ALL events.
Justin Timberlake may just be one of the best husbands in all of Hollywood. While he was escorting his wife Jessica Biel down the red carpet, they stopped to talk. First they spoke with Jessica (who was nominated for an award) before turning it to Justin and asking him about his new album and upcoming Super Bowl performance. He tried to dodge the questions, when he realized that wouldn’t work he quickly answered the questions before turning the attention back on his wife saying “I’m so proud of her for her what she has achieved and how hard she has worked. This is her night. I’m escorting my wife on her big night.” Well done sir, well done.
Inside it was nice to see women standing together, cheering each other on and supporting one another. I think this was shown so clearly between Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon. They were both nominated for the same award and when Nicole beat out Reese they shared a hug, mouthed “I love you” to each other and Reese could be seen beaming at her friend in show of support of what she had achieved. Not only that but during Nicole’s acceptance speech she was sure to thank and gave support to other women in the room. That is the mark of a truly beautiful and strong woman. Acknowledging other women’s strengths and building them up.
One woman stole the show and we learned that practically everyone is in awe of Oprah. Oprah was stunning and beaming the whole night. She was there to be awarded with the Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement. Sitting front and center the entire night was almost too much for many of the people who won an award. It caught them off guard and many times they would stop in the middle of their speech to say things “oh hi Oprah!” or “look it’s Oprah” before continuing on. As for Oprah, her speech did not disappoint. It was powerful, uplifting and full of hope. I strongly suggest if you watch it
For me, I swore this year I wasn’t going to watch. I didn’t want to hear the rants, the political speeches or watch celebrities pat themselves on the back. But, I turned it on and found myself happy to see most people handling it with grace, seeing women celebrate other women’s achievements and some women giving accolades to the men in their life. I was happy to see that very few woman lashed out at men and yes, some thought it was in humor but really it came across as harsh and not funny at all…talking about Amy Poehler who bashed Seth Meyers to the point it was uncomfortable and jokes made by Geena Davis about wage gap (trust me, wage gap between men and women is no laughing matter but even that made me feel uncomfortable and it wasn’t the time or place to talk about it).
If you didn’t watch, it’s ok. If you did watch then you saw a night that was different from previous awards shows and for the most part I think it was a very good change.