Despite Ricky Gervais’ pleas for the Golden Globe winners to not get political, multiple victors used their time on the stage to speak out on climate change and abortion rights.
Patricia Arquette, who won for her role in Hulu’s “The Act,” urged fellow attendees and audience members to vote in the 2020 election, noting the rising tensions with Iran, President Donald Trump’s conduct and Australian brushfires worsened by climate change as particularly urgent crises.
“I know that tonight, Jan. 5, 2020, we’re not gonna look back on this night in the history books. 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 said. “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. We have to vote in 2020, and we have to beg and plead for everyone we know to vote in 2020.”
Earlier in the show, Russell Crowe won for his portrayal of Fox News founder Roger Ailes in Showtime’s “The Loudest Voice.” Crowe, who was unable to attend do the Australia brushfires, had Jennifer Aniston read off a statement, where he said the current fires in his home country are a result of climate change: “Make no mistake. The tragedy unfolding in Australia is climate change-based. We need to act based on science, move our global workforce to renewable energy and respect our planet for the unique & amazing place it is.”
Michelle Williams, who won for her role as Gwen Verdon in FX’s “Fosse/Verdon,” spoke out on abortion rights and urged women to vote “in their own self-interest” in the coming election this fall.
“I know my choices might look different than yours, but thank God, or to whomever you pray to, that we live in a country founded on the principle that I am free to live by my principals and you are free to live by yours,” she said. “Women, 18 to 118, when it is time to vote, please do so in your own self-interest. It’s what men have been doing for years. Which is why the world looks so much like them. But don’t forget, we are the largest voting body in the country. Let’s make it look more like us.”