Senior Reporter, HuffPost
What was once Hollywood’s glitziest awards show is now a glorified Twitter thread ― and a chaotic one, at that.
Even if you planned on watching this year’s Golden Globes ― the precipitous drop in ratings over the past decade might suggest otherwise ― you couldn’t.
After a scandal and COVID-plagued year, the 79th annual ceremony wasn’t televised or livestreamed on Sunday night. There was no red carpet, host, A-list presenter or even a single celebrity in sight. Instead, winners were announced on social media throughout the evening, as the event thrown by the beleaguered Hollywood Foreign Press Association dispensed with the trappings of a traditional awards show altogether.
Organizers said the recent COVID-19 surge was behind the significantly scaled-down ceremony, which was held as a private, press-free event at the Beverly Hilton hotel in Los Angeles with only HFPA members in attendance.
But, of course, there is much more to the story. NBC announced last year that it would not broadcast the 2022 show amid a public outcry over the HFPA’s various ethical lapses, shady business dealings and staggering lack of diversity ― the group previously counted zero Black members among its ranks. The problematic inner workings of the HFPA came to light in multiple damning reports published by the Los Angeles Times just days before last year’s ceremony.
The backlash was swift, with studios, publicity firms and celebrities ― Tom Cruise famously returned his three Golden Globe statuettes to the HFPA headquarters ― condemning the group’s practices. Since then, the organization claims to have made “sweeping changes” to its bylaws and admitted its most diverse class of members in its history, all of whom are first-time Globes voters, among other reforms.
Perhaps that’s why the nominees were at least slightly more representative than usual with three Black actors ― Will Smith (“King Richard”), Denzel Washington (“The Tragedy of Macbeth”) and Mahershala Ali (“Swan Song”) ― dominating the Best Actor category. Meanwhile, Jane Campion (“The Power of the Dog”) and Maggie Gyllenhaal (“The Lost Daughter”) provided strong competition in the typically male-dominated Best Director field.
Ultimately, Campion’s “The Power of the Dog” prevailed, collecting major wins, including Best Drama, Best Director and Best Supporting Actor for Kodi Smit-McPhee. Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story” also proved to be popular among Globes voters, taking home the trophy for Best Musical or Comedy; Best Actress went to breakout star Rachel Zegler and Best Supporting Actress went to Ariana DeBose.
On the television side, “Succession” led the pack. The show was honored with the Best Drama award, in addition to scoring wins for Jeremy Strong and Sarah Snook. HBO’s “Hacks” also fared well, making a winner once again out of Jean Smart and picking up the prize for Best Comedy Series.
But only a few of the night’s biggest stars, including Nicole Kidman, Mj Rodriguez and DeBose, even acknowledged their wins on social media. Other high-profile winners, including Will Smith and Andrew Garfield, have yet to comment on the awards, perhaps as a way to insulate themselves from further controversy.
Check out the list of nominees and winners below.
Best Motion Picture — Drama
“Belfast”
“CODA”
“Dune”
“King Richard”
WINNER: “The Power of the Dog”
Best Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy
“Cyrano”
“Don’t Look Up”
“Licorice Pizza”
“Tick, Tick… Boom!”
WINNER: “West Side Story”
Best Director, Motion Picture
Kenneth Branagh, “Belfast”
WINNER: Jane Campion, “The Power of the Dog”
Maggie Gyllenhaal, “The Lost Daughter”
Steven Spielberg, “West Side Story”
Denis Villeneuve, “Dune”
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama
Jessica Chastain, “The Eyes of Tammy Faye”
Olivia Colman, “The Lost Daughter”
WINNER: Nicole Kidman, “Being the Ricardos”
Lady Gaga, “House of Gucci”
Kristen Stewart, “Spencer”
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama
Mahershala Ali, “Swan Song”
Javier Bardem, “Being the Ricardos”
Benedict Cumberbatch, “The Power of the Dog”
WINNER: Will Smith, “King Richard”
Denzel Washington, “The Tragedy of Macbeth”
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy
Marion Cotillard, “Annette”
Alana Haim, “Licorice Pizza”
Jennifer Lawrence, “Don’t Look Up”
Emma Stone, “Cruella”
WINNER: Rachel Zegler, “West Side Story”
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy
Leonardo DiCaprio, “Don’t Look Up”
Peter Dinklage, “Cyrano”
WINNER: Andrew Garfield, “Tick, Tick… Boom!”
Cooper Hoffman, “Licorice Pizza”
Anthony Ramos, “In the Heights”
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture
Caitriona Balfe, “Belfast”
WINNER: Ariana DeBose, “West Side Story”
Kirsten Dunst, “The Power of the Dog”
Aunjanue Ellis, “King Richard”
Ruth Negga, “Passing”
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture
Ciarán Hinds, “Belfast”
Jamie Dornan, “Belfast”
Ben Affleck, “The Tender Bar”
Troy Kotsur, “Coda”
WINNER: Kodi Smit-McPhee, “The Power of the Dog”
Best Picture, Non-English Language
“Compartment No. 6”
WINNER: “Drive My Car”
“The Hand of God”
“A Hero”
“Parallel Mothers”
Best Motion Picture — Animated
WINNER: “Encanto”
“Flee”
“Luca”
“My Sunny Maad”
“Raya and the Last Dragon”
Best Screenplay — Motion Picture
“Licorice Pizza”
WINNER: “Belfast”
“The Power of the Dog”
“Don’t Look Up”
“Being the Ricardos”
Best Original Score, Motion Picture
“The French Dispatch” — Alexandre Desplat
“Encanto” — Germaine Franco
“The Power of the Dog” — Jonny Greenwood
“Parallel Mothers” — Alberto Iglesias
WINNER: “Dune” — Hans Zimmer
Best Original Song
“Be Alive” from “King Richard” — Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, Dixson
“Dos Oruguitas” from “Encanto” — Lin-Manuel Miranda
“Down to Joy” from “Belfast” — Van Morrison
“Here I Am (Singing My Way Home)” from “Respect” — Jamie Alexander Hartman, Jennifer Hudson, Carole King
WINNER: “No Time to Die” from “No Time to Die” — Billie Eilish, Finneas O’Connell
Best Television Series — Drama
“Lupin”
“The Morning Show”
“Post”
“Squid Game”
WINNER: “Succession”
Best Television Series — Musical or Comedy
“The Great”
WINNER: “Hacks”
“Only Murders in the Building”
“Reservation Dogs”
“Ted Lasso”
Best Television Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
“Dopesick”
“Impeachment: American Crime Story”
“Maid”
“Mare of Easttown”
WINNER: “The Underground Railroad”
Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series, Drama
Uzo Aduba, “In Treatment”
Jennifer Aniston, “The Morning Show”
Christine Baranski, “The Good Fight”
Elisabeth Moss, “The Handmaid’s Tale”
WINNER: Mj Rodriguez, “Pose”
Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series, Drama
Brian Cox, “Succession”
Lee Jung-jae, “Squid Game”
Billy Porter, “Pose”
WINNER: Jeremy Strong, “Succession”
Omar Sy, “Lupin”
Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series — Musical or Comedy
Hannah Einbinder, “Hacks”
Elle Fanning, “The Great”
Issa Rae, “Insecure”
Tracee Ellis Ross, “Blackish”
WINNER: Jean Smart, “Hacks”
Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series — Musical or Comedy
Anthony Anderson, “Black-ish”
Nicholas Hoult, “The Great”
Steve Martin, “Only Murders in the Building”
Martin Short, “Only Murders in the Building”
WINNER: Jason Sudeikis, “Ted Lasso”
Best Performance by an Actress, Limited Series, Anthology Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television
Jessica Chastain, “Scenes From a Marriage”
Cynthia Erivo, “Genius: Aretha”
Elizabeth Olsen, “WandaVision“
Margaret Qualley, “Maid”
WINNER: Kate Winslet, “Mare of Easttown”
Best Performance by an Actor, Limited Series, Anthology Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Paul Bettany, “WandaVision”
Oscar Isaac, “Scenes From a Marriage”
WINNER: Michael Keaton, “Dopesick”
Ewan McGregor, “Halston”
Tahar Rahim, “The Serpent”
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Jennifer Coolidge, “White Lotus”
Kaitlyn Dever, “Dopesick”
Andie MacDowell, “Maid”
WINNER: Sarah Snook, “Succession”
Hannah Waddingham, “Ted Lasso”
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Billy Crudup, “The Morning Show”
Kieran Culkin, “Succession”
Mark Duplass, “The Morning Show”
Brett Goldstein, “Ted Lasso”
WINNER: O Yeong-su, “Squid Game”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Senior Reporter, HuffPost