Patricia Arquette used the time allotted for her Golden Globes acceptance speech on Sunday to implore viewers to vote in the 2020 election, noting the rising tensions with Iran, President Donald Trump, and Australian brushfires worsened by climate change as particularly urgent crises.
After thanking the cast and crew and producers of the Hulu movie “The Act,” Arquette turned political. “I know that tonight, Jan. 5, 2020, we’re not gonna look back on this night in the history books,” she began. “We will see a country on the brink of war, the United States of America. A president tweeting out a threat of 52 bombs, including cultural sites. Young people risking their lives all across the world. People not knowing if bombs are gonna drop on their kids’ heads. And the continent of Australia on fire.”
She finished with a call to action — though not mentioning any specific party or candidate. “So, while I love my kids so much, I beg of us all to give them a better world, for our kids, and their kids,” she said. “We have to vote in 2020, and we have to beg and plead for everyone we know to vote in 2020. Thank you.”
Australia is current beset with brushfires that have so far burned over 16 million acres and killed 25 people, and as many as half a billion animals. Meanwhile, on Jan. 3 a U.S. drone strike on a convoy near Baghdad International Airport killed Iranian Major General Qasem Soleimani.
Trump has since tweeted threats to destroy sites of culture importance in Iran, which if carried out would be a war crime.
Watch the speech above.
Arquette was not the only Golden Globes winner to get political. Russell Crowe, winner of Best Actor in a TV Limited Series or Movie for “The Loudest Voice in the Room,” mentioned climate change in his speech, delivered in absentia since he was with his family in Australia.
In addition, “Gwen/Verdon” star Michelle Williams gave a heartfelt defense of abortion rights. “I know my choices might look different than yours, but thank God … we live in a country founded on the principle that I am free to live by my faith and you are free to live by yours,” she said. “So women, …when it is time to vote, please do so in your own self-interest.”