Golden Globes 2021 highs, lows and head-scratchers

Tina Fey and Amy Poehler may have wanted to keep the 2021 Golden Globes a politics-free zone. But Sacha Baron Cohen didn’t get that memo from the show’s hosts… or he just ignored it. The Borat Subsequent Moviefilm star used his dual acceptance speeches to pointedly tweak Rudy Giuliani and Donald Trump, both of whom play major (if unwitting) roles in the hit sequel. Cohen’s comments functioned as the telecast’s most trenchant — and hilarious — pieces of political commentary on an evening when most presenters and winners tried to turn the focus elsewhere.

While Cohen’s speeches inspired tears of laughter, genuine tears were shed when Hollywood legend Norman Lear, five months shy of his 99th birthday, accepted the Carol Burnett Award for his storied career, and when Simone Ledward Boseman spoke on behalf of her dearly departed husband, Chadwick Boseman, who won a posthumous statue for his blistering performance in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.

While those moments ranked among the show’s highlights, the Globes’ luster was dimmed by the continued controversy over the lack of diversity within the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Executives from the organization attempted to address the absence of Black voters in the group head-on, but their comments didn’t exactly persuade viewers or activists. It didn’t help that the night’s first winner — Judas and the Black Messiah star Daniel Kaluuya — suffered technical difficulties during his speech that nearly prevented his voice from being heard.