11 of the most memorable Golden Globes moments ever

The Golden Globes are known for being one of the most scandalous awards ceremonies in Hollywood. Here’s a look back some of the more shocking moments to date

'Lady Bird' stars take part in the red carpet blackout at the 2018 Golden Globes in solidarity with sexual harassment victims. Mike Nelson / EPA

The 2019 awards season officially kicks off in Los Angeles tonight with the Golden Globes. There are sure to be plenty of memorable moments on the night, but in the meantime, take a look back at some of the more shocking moments from past ceremonies…

1) The red carpet blackout

Proving that red carpet fashion is far from frivolous, the 2018 red carpet made a statement with a collective blackout. In solidarity with the anti-harassment Time’s Up movement, there was a call for all of the stars attending the ceremony to do so head-to-toe in black.

Big Little Lies stars Laura Dern, Nicole Kidman, Zoe Kravitz, Reese Witherspoon and Shailene Woodley. EPA

"I am wearing black to stand in solidarity with all of the women who have come out about being sexually harassed and abused," Glow star Allison Brie said of her decision to wear a black. "I'm so in awe of the bravery it took for the first few to come forward. They are heroes."

All of the stars participated in the stand – bar three female attendees, model Barbara Meier, and actors Barbara Blanco and Meher Tatna.

Of her decision to not wear black, Blanco tweeted, “The issue is bigger than my dress color (sic) #TIMESUP”.

2) Seth Meyers addressing Harvey Weinstein allegations

Naturally, the Time’s Up movement was a focal conversation point at the 2018 Golden Globes. Presenter, Seth Meyers, addressed the Harvey Weinstein allegations directly in his opening monologue.

“Time to address the elephant not in the room. Harvey Weinstein isn’t here tonight because, well, I’ve heard rumours that he’s crazy and difficult to work with,” Meyers said. “But don’t worry, he’ll be back in 20 years when he becomes the first person ever booed during the ‘In Memoriam.’”

3) Leonardo DiCaprio side eyeing Lady Gaga

A moment that very quickly became a meme. When Lady Gaga stepped up to receive her Best Actress in a Limited Series award back in 2016 for her role in American Horror Story, she brushed past Leonardo DiCaprio, and the Wolf of Wall Street star gave Gaga an if-looks-could-kill death stare.

When asked about the altercation by Entertainment Tonight, Leo quipped, “Oh lord — that’s trending, huh?” Adding, “I just didn’t know what was passing me, that’s all!”

4) Tina Fey and Amy Poehler’s very personal George Clooney jokes

Comedy duo Tina Fey and Amy Poehler have presented the awards ceremony a number of times, and they did not hold back in 2014, when joking about George Clooney’s love life.

Before the he was married to human rights lawyer, Amal Clooney, the actor had a reputation for only dating younger women, which lead to the gag, "Gravity is nominated for Best Film. It's the story of how George Clooney would rather float away into space and die than spend one more minute with a woman his own age."

Tina Fey and Amy Poehler during the 72nd Annual Golden Globe Awards. AP Photo

A year on, they addressed George again when he was receiving his lifetime achievement award.

“George Clooney married Amal Alamuddin this year,” Tina Fey said, when introducing the award. “Amal is a human rights lawyer who worked on the Enron case, was an adviser to Kofi Annan regarding Syria and was selected for a three-person UN commission investigating rules of war violations in the Gaza Strip. So tonight… her husband is getting a lifetime achievement award.”

5) Renee Zellweger’s badly-timed toilet break

Talk about bad timing. Renee Zellweger won the Best Actress award for her role in Nurse Betty back in 2001, but the star was nowhere to be seen when Hugh Grant announced her as winner. After a few awkward moments, the Notting Hill star began to accept the award on her behalf, before Renee rushed out on stage explaining that she had been checking her teeth for lipstick in the bathroom.

Skip to 1:07 for the awkward moment:

The same happened to Christine Lahti in 1998 when she won Best Actress in a Drama Television Series for Chicago Hope.

“Everyone felt so embarrassed for me,” Lahti said last year, recalling the incident. “Maybe they could relate in a way.”

6) The cancelled 2008 ceremony

Eleven years ago, Hollywood more or less shut down during the 2008 Writers Guild strike. When it came to the Golden Globes, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association decided to cancel the ceremony when members of the Screen Actors Guild announced that they would not cross the picket lines to attend, which would have left the ceremony with a very empty red carpet.

“We are all very disappointed that our traditional awards ceremony will not take place this year and that millions of viewers worldwide will be deprived of seeing many of their favourite stars celebrating 2007’s outstanding achievements in motion pictures and television,” Jorge Camara, who served as Hollywood Foreign Press Association president from 2007-2009, said at the time.

Rather than hosting the awards ceremony, the HFPA simply announced the recipients of the awards on the scheduled date in a televised press conference.

7) Natalie Portman calling out Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s sexism

At the 2018 ceremony, the HFPA had an exclusively male list of Best Director nominees, despite Greta Gerwig and Dee Rees being eligible for nomination for Lady Bird and Mudbound, respectively.

When Natalie Portman took to the stage to present the category, she confronted the matter head-on, saying, “Here are the all-male nominees.” The retort split the audience, with some cheering the line, and others simply looking on in shock.

8) When John Legend’s name was misspelt

Proof that subs and spellchecks are essential, at the 2017 Globes, John Legend’s name was spelt with an extra “d”, as “Ledgend”, on his table name card.

Naturally the All of Me singer's hilarious wife, Chrissy Teigen, poked fun at the star on Twitter, posting a picture of him with the misspelt card, with the caption, "Bahahaha loser". (Click to see the full image)

9) Ewan McGregor thanking his ex AND his girlfriend in the same acceptance speech

A cringe-inducing moment, at last year’s ceremony Ewan McGregor thanked both his estranged wife, Eve Mavrakis, and alleged mistress, Mary Elizabeth Winstead (who he was rumoured to have cheated with), in the same acceptance speech.

Taking home the gong for Best Actor in a Limited Series, for Fargo, the Scottish actor said, "I want to take a moment to just say thank you to Eve, who always stood by me for 22 years," before adding, "There wouldn't have been a Ray [McGregor's character] without Mary Elizabeth Winstead."

When asked about the tribute, Mavrakis told reporters, “No, I did not like his speech.”

10) Angelina Jolie taking a dip in her gown

Before she was best known has a humanitarian, Angelina was a Hollywood wild child, and during her vial-of-blood-around-her-neck heyday, the mother-of-six promised to jump into the Beverly Hilton pool in her gown if she won for Gia in 1999.

Well, a woman of her word – even at her most rebellious – she did win, so she did jump into the pool, taking an Access Hollywood producer in with her.

11) Jeremy Renner’s tasteless joke

When presenting the Best Actor in a Television Mini-Series or Movie award at the 2015 ceremony, Jennifer Lopez asked co-presenter Jeremy Renner who should open the envelope to announce the winner.

“I’ve got the nails,” JLo told Renner, to which he replied – after looking her up and down, “You’ve got the globes, too.”

The joke was met by groans from the audience and online criticism, with one Twitter user describing him as the “Best Supporting Creep”.

Jeremy defended himself, tweeting, “A reminder not to take this **** so serious. Thanks Jennifer -- You're a gem.x #goldenglobes #hadtosayit #jlo”.

______________________

Read more:

The best looks from Golden Globes past - in pictures

Five reasons to watch the Golden Globes 2019

New Golden Globes honour will be named after Carol Burnett

Nadine Labaki’s ‘Capernaum’ is up for a Golden Globe

______________________