The best and worst moments of the 2020 Golden Globes

The 77th Annual Golden Globe Awards started wild and stayed wild. 

Broadcasting live from the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California, host Ricky Gervais kicked off the night with a cringe-worthy monologue (including a jab about Jeffrey Epstein.) Then underdog Ramy Youssef (we told you to watch Ramy!) took home a big win, and Matt Bomer and Sofía Vergara had a mix-up with a teleprompter. 

Jason Momoa showed up in a tank top, Cousin Greg did a little dance, Daddy Roy gave a little kiss to Kieran Culkin, Michelle Williams read the house down, Russell Crowe and Joaquin Phoenix made pleas for our planet, and everyone cried with Tom Hanks. Oh, and Fleabag just kept on winning.

Here’s a look at the best and worst moments of the 2020 Golden Globes.

Best: Ramy Youssef’s hilarious acceptance speech

“Look, I know you guys haven’t see my show,” quipped Best Actor in a TV Musical or Comedy winner Ramy Youseff. “Everyone’s like, ‘Is this an editor?'”

Accepting the Globe for his performance in Hulu’s Ramy, surprise victor Youssef remarked on his show’s lack of recognition in 2019 — acknowledging what the award meant for Ramy‘s continued role in onscreen representation.

“We made a very a specific show about an Arab Muslim family living in New Jersey, and this means a lot, to be recognized on this level,” he continued. “So, I do want to thank everyone who was involved, my co-creators, producers, my family, my mom and dad.”

“My mom was rooting for Michael Douglas,” Youssef added in a final joke. “Egyptians love Michael Douglas.”

Best: Russell Crowe’s statement on climate change 

Although Russell Crowe wasn’t physically present to accept Best Actor in a Limited Series for his performance in The Loudest Voice, his speech was still one of the best. Presenter Jenifer Aniston, noting that Crowe wasn’t able to attend due to the raging wildfires in Crowe’s home country of Australia, read the following in his absence, at his request:

“Make no mistake. The tragedy unfolding in Australia is climate change-based. We need to act based on science, move our global workforce to renewable energy, and respect our planet for the unique and amazing place it is.”

It was a powerful message, echoed by numerous presenters, nominees, and winners throughout the evening. Notably, Joaquin Phoenix won Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture — Drama and used much of his speech time to echo Crowe’s sentiments. 

Worst: Matt Bomer and Sofía Vergara’s line mix-up 

Was it a bit, or a mistake? 

While presenting the award for Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Limited Series, or TV Movie, Matt Bomer and Sofía Vergara experienced a flub that led to both presenters awkwardly saying the same line. Vergara, glaring daggers at Bomer, quickly joked, “That was mine!” before conceding he was correct. Was it really his line? Is she just that professional? We’re…sweaty.

Best: Bong Joon Ho dragging Western attitudes towards subtitles 

Parasite director Bong Joon Ho used his Best Foreign Language Film victory as an opportunity to celebrate his genre-bending masterpiece  — and challenge Western audiences to do better.

Speaking through his interpreter, Bong remarked, “Once you overcome the one-inch tall barrier of subtitles, you will be introduced to so many more amazing films.”

He then added, “Just being nominated along with fellow, amazing international filmmakers was a huge honor. I think we use only one language: the cinema.” It was a poignant, yet feisty jab at the role English-speaking audiences play in accepting films on an international level. 

Best: The cast of Succession just existing

From Cousin Greg dancing up a storm to Roman getting a little kiss from Daddy, the cast of Succession stole moment after moment at the Globes ceremony — in part because they never seemed truly out of character.

The HBO series’ biggest success of the night? The award for Best Television Series — Drama. 

“It’s a team show,” said series creator Jesse Armstrong, with more love than Logan Roy could ever muster. “I’m here as the representative to accept it on behalf of all of us. So if you’ve ever appeared on the call sheet or in the titles of Succession, congratulations! We’ve won a Golden Globe.” 

Worst: The all-male Best Director category 

Once again, a major awards show nominated only men for its Best Director category. 

It wasn’t a good look — host Ricky Gervais said as much in a problematic remark — when Martin Scorsese (The Irishman), Quentin Tarantino (Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood), Bong Joon Ho (Parasite), Todd Phillips (Joker), and Sam Mendes (who ultimately won for 1917) were honored while directors Greta Gerwig (Little Women), Lorene Scafaria (Hustlers), and Lulu Wang (The Farewell) went unnoticed. Here’s hoping the Oscars do better. 

Best: Kate McKinnon celebrating Ellen DeGeneres 

In a teary introduction for Carol Burnett Award honoree Ellen DeGeneres, Saturday Night Live actress Kate McKinnon praised the trailblazing comedian for both her contribution to the world of entertainment and impact on LGBTQ visibility. 

“If I hadn’t seen her on TV, I would have thought, ‘I could never be on TV,'” remarked McKinnon. “‘They don’t let LGBT people be on TV.’ And more than that, I would have gone on thinking that I was an alien and that I maybe didn’t have a right to be here. So, thank you, Ellen for giving me a shot at a good life.”

It was a heart-warming moment between two of comedy’s most shining talents, shared in the warm embrace of queer, female legacy. DeGeneres added that Burnett, as a woman, inspired her similarly.

Best: The world uniting in its love of Tom Hanks 

Raise your hand if you’ve ever been personally victimized by Tom Hanks’ Golden Globes speech.

Accepting the Cecil B. DeMille Award for his outstanding contributions to the world of entertainment, Hanks began his speech by telling the audience he had a cold. Then, he gushed about his family, gushed about the magic of the films, cried a little, made Charlize Theron cry a little, and sent the internet into a frenzy of sheer love. 

“You just have to somehow put it all together,” Hanks emphasized of filmmaking. “Have faith in what the process is, and go there.” We will, Tom. We promise! 

Best: Michelle Williams advocating for women’s right to choose

Accepting the award for Best Actress in a Limited Series or Television Movie for her performance in Fosse/Verdon, actress Michelle Williams used her stage time to deliver a powerful reflection on the importance of abortion rights and women’s right to choose.

“I’ve tried my very best to live a life of my own making, and not just a series of events that happened to me, but one that I could stand back and look at and recognize my handwriting all over — sometimes messy and scrawling, sometimes careful and precise — but one that I had carved with my own hand,” she said. “And I wouldn’t have been able to do this without employing a woman’s right to choose, to choose when to have my children and with whom.”

You can read Williams’ speech in full here. 

Best/worst: “Last time” host Ricky Gervais 

Whether Ricky Gervais’s 2020 Globes hosting gig was a success or a failure is up for debate. 

On the one hand, Gervais got in some excellent zingers (his streaming service and Greta Thunberg jokes were genuinely funny!). But on the other hand, a ton of his quips (his takes on Jeffrey Epstein, the in memoriam, Felicity Huffman’s teenage daughter, and the all-male directors category) fell uncomfortably flat. 

“You’ll be pleased to know this is the last time I’m hosting these awards, so I don’t care anymore,” Gervais ribbed in his opening monologue. “I’m joking. I never did.” Huh. OK. 

See all the winners and nominees from the night here.