Black Actors in Focus at reformed Golden Globes

The Golden Globe awards returned to television, facing the scandals that caused its yearlong hiatus head on.

Host Jerrod Carmichael started the show with a monologue about how in 2021, the Hollywood Foreign press Association, the group behind the awards, didn’t have any Black members. Carmichael, who is Black and gay, said he got the gig presenting the awards on NBC because of his race.

“One minute you’re making mint tea at home, the next you’re invited to be the Black face of an embattled White organisation,” Carmichael said. He is the first solo Black host in the award show’s eight-decade history. 

A diverse set of actors took home early awards. Ke Huy Quan took best supporting actor in a motion picture award for his role in the A24 sci-fi film Everything Everywhere All At Once. Angela Bassett, who reprised her role as Queen Ramonda in Walt Disney Co.’s Marvel juggernaut, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, won best supporting film actress. Tyler James Williams won best supporting actor in a comedic TV series for his work in Abbott Elementary, a show with a mostly Black cast.

Despite the show’s past controversies, major Hollywood stars were still in attendance at the Beverly Hilton ballroom. Brad Pitt, Steven Spielberg and Salma Hayek all made appearances. Carmichael said in a meeting HFPA President Helen Hoehne took stock of the group’s shortcomings, though the comedian joked he took the job for money and didn’t care if they changed.

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