The Golden Globes were calm, scripted and largely apolitical amid a world on fire

By Lisa Respers France, CNN

(CNN) — Perhaps the 83rd Annual Golden Globes decided to lean into dry January.

The annual awards show is known for having flowing booze, which often helps lubricate the acceptance speeches, but things were oddly calm this year.

Absent were any sloppy moments or off-the-cuff interactions. Winners were also largely quiet on the political situation inside the country, giving the whole thing a muted tone.

Has the awards show become more conservative or was Hollywood simply leaning into the joy the world desperately seems to need right now?

In the olden days, celebs would wear sunglasses inside the show — more to hide their clear enjoyment of the libations than to look cool.

Jack Nicholson was wearing a pair when he announced “I took a valium tonight” back in 2003. A decade later, hosts Tina Fey and Amy Poehler held their own drinks up to the camera while Fey joked, “Look how drunk Glenn Close is,” as noted in a video by The Wrap titled “Drunken Globes: One Minute of ‘Golden’ Boozy Moments.”

And who can forget Cate Blanchett’s admission after winning best actress in a drama for “Blue Jasmine” in 2014 that since her “category came up rather later in the evening,” she was “a couple of sheets to the wind.”

CNN’s Stephanie Elam was in the room Sunday night and said that while she saw a few stars with “wobbly footsteps” towards the end of the show, it was more about folks catching up and making sure to hit the side room for sushi, dessert and cocktails.

The muted vibe might track with the turmoil outside the ballroom, as the country reckons with the killing of Renee Nicole Good by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Minneapolis, President Donald Trump’s assault on Venezuela and spiraling protests in Iran.

While some — including Ariana Grande, Natasha Lyonne and Tessa Thompson — wore “Be Good” or “ICE Out” pins in the wake of Good’s killing, statements were relegated to the red carpet.

Actor Mark Ruffalo, who was nominated for best male actor in a television drama for his work in “Task,” told USA Today that the pin was for Good and “the people in the United States who are terrorized and scared today.”

“I know I’m one of ‘em,” he said on the red carpet. “I love this country and what I’m seeing here happening is not America.”

He also called out Trump over Venezuela.

“We’re in the middle of a war with Venezuela that we illegally invaded,” said Ruffalo, who is known to use social media to speak his mind about politics. “He’s telling the world that international law doesn’t matter to him.”

Asked on the red carpet about shooting the latest season of “Hacks,” Jean Smart told “Entertainment Tonight” that “everything is a little bit overshadowed with everything that’s going on in our country.”

“I feel like we’re kind of at a turning point in our country, and I hope people can keep their heads, because I think that’s actually going to be the hardest thing, to keep our heads,” she said. “But that’s going to take a lot of courage and a lot of restraint, but I think that’s important.”

Smart pointed to her words during her acceptance speech after once again winning the best actress in a TV comedy award.

“There’s so much that could be said tonight. I said my rant on the red carpet, so I won’t do it here,” she said on stage. “Let’s all do the right thing. I think everybody in their hearts knows what the right thing is to do, so let’s do the right thing.”

Host Nikki Glaser touched on some political issues during her opening monologue, getting in a jab about the Epstein files.

“I cannot believe the amount of star power we have in this room tonight, it’s insane. There’s so many A-listers. And by ‘A-listers’ I do mean people who are on a list that has been heavily redacted,” she joked. “Yes and the Golden Globe for best editing goes to … the Justice Department.”

She also poked fun at CBS which hosted the show and has been under scrutiny after the new editor-in-chief of CBS News, Bari Weiss, shelved a “60 Minutes” story about Venezuelan men being deported by the Trump administration to a notorious maximum-security prison in El Salvador.

“And the award for ‘Most Editing’ goes to CBS News,” Glaser quipped Sunday night. “Yes, CBS News, America’s newest place to see BS news.”

It was Glaser’s second time hosting the Golden Globes and like last year she leaned more heavily into teasing the talent and the industry than taking on politics, though even that schtick seemed kinder and gentler.

This is a woman who managed to get Sean Penn to laugh at her saying “Everyone in this town is obsessed with looking younger, but Sean Penn is like, ‘What if I slowly morph into a sexy leather handbag?’”

Penn is a man who has famously swung at paparazzi for less.

One person who spoke their minds from the Beverly Hilton stage was Wanda Sykes while presenting the award for best stand-up comedy on TV to Ricky Gervais for his “Ricky Gervais: Mortality” Netflix special. Gervais was not there to accept the award and Sykes used the opportunity to “thank God and the trans community” on his behalf.

Gervais is famously an atheist and has received backlash for comments he’s made about the trans community.

For the record, last year’s Golden Globes weren’t super political either, but this year’s felt even more staid and family friendly. One of the most viral moments? “All Her Fault” star Duke McCloud on the red carpet talking about his tiny, tailored blue suit.

The awards show may get that Generation Alpha viewership yet.

CNN’s Stephanie Elam contributed to this report.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.