Golden Globes: the most memorable speeches in the history of the awards

The Golden Globes have long been considered a more informal version of the awards that choose the best of the year and have historically had a series of memorable award acceptance speeches, with emotional moments, but also funny and scandalous.

Many artists take advantage of the moment to make political speeches focused on diversity. Others end up generating unusual moments. There are still those who go to the bathroom and end up missing the great moment of receiving the prize.

From Meryl Streep speaking out against Trump to Brad Pitt thanking the brand of diarrhea medicine, CNN separated the most memorable speeches from the awards ceremony – so far.

The most memorable Golden Globe speeches

• Brad Pitt in 1996 with unusual gratitude

Brad Pitt won the Best Supporting Actor category for his performance in “The Twelve Monkeys”, in 1996, and thanked none other than a medicine against diarrhea and other intestinal discomforts in his speech.

“I would like to thank…actually the creators of Kaopectate,” Pitt said, adding, “They have done their fellow man a great service.” The actor even revealed that he depends on medication because he has a “nervous stomach”.

• Robin Williams saving his colleague in the bathroom in 1998

Memorable, in fact, for her almost lack of speech, Christine Lahti did not go on stage to receive her award for Best Actress for the series “Chicago Hope”, in 1998, because she simply went to the bathroom at the wrong time. So, Robin Williams decided to run to the stage to grab the microphone and entertain the audience for a while, until the actress actually arrived.

• Ving Rhames passing on the award (1998)

Ving Rhames won the Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a Miniseries in 1998 for “Don King” and could not contain his tears, moving the entire audience. This became even stronger when he asked Jack Lemmon, who was also nominated in the category, to come on stage.

Rhames presented his Golden Globe to his colleague, which moved and impressed the crowd even more.

• Hugh Laurie and the 172 Thanks (2006)

Hugh Laurie had an innovative idea for his acceptance speech for Best Actor in a TV Drama Series for “House” in 2006. The actor wanted to recognize the entire team in his thanks, but according to him the total of 172 people It was very difficult to fit into the speech.

He then said that he wrote everyone's name on papers and drew three on the spot: the script supervisor, the hairdresser and the actor's agent.

• Mo´Nique in award shared with victims of abuse (2010)

Mo´Nique received the award in the category of Best Supporting Actress, in 2010, for “Preciosa – A Story of Hope” and could not hold back her emotion when praising the director for the exciting construction of the film’s story, the protagonist and, mainly, the husband. “I told him: 'one day we will be stars'; and he said back, 'you first,'” she shared, in tears.

Finally, she wanted to share the award with anyone who has ever been abused, as a reference to what was portrayed in the film.

• Jaqueline Bisset with meaningless sentences (2014)

Looking shocked after winning the award for Best Supporting Actress in a Miniseries for “Dancing on The Edge” in 2014, Jaqueline Bisset was in tears before arriving on stage and barely managed to deliver her speech.

On stage, he didn't seem to know much what to say and ended up just throwing random words and messages at the audience – in addition to swearing a lot. Finally, she finished with, “I believe, if you want to look good, you have to forgive everyone. You have to forgive everyone – it’s the best beauty treatment.”

• Ryan Gosling in romantic speech dedicated to his wife (2017)

In 2017, Ryan Gosling received the award for Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical for “La La Land” and drew attention for a speech dedicated to his wife Eva Mendes.

“While I was singing, dancing, playing the piano and having one of the best experiences I’ve ever had in a film, my wife was raising our daughter, pregnant with our second and trying to help her brother fight cancer,” said the actor.

• Meryl Streep criticizing Donald Trump's idea (2017)

Meryl Streep took the stage to receive the 2017 Cecil B. DeMille honorary award and gave a speech about the importance of foreigners to the Hollywood industry. At the time, the actress' speech was in line with the anti-immigration preached by the then President of the United States Donald Trump.

She made a point of listing great, extremely talented foreign actors, such as Natalie Portman (Jerusalem), Dev Patel (Kenya) and Ryan Gosling (Canada).

• Oprah Winfrey for women's rights (2018)

Oprah Winfrey won the Cecil B. DeMille trophy in 2018 and made a point of highlighting that she was the first black woman to win such an honorary award.

In addition to praising black culture, Oprah highlighted the importance of female strength and empowerment. “I want every girl watching here, right now, to know that a new day is on the horizon. And that when this new day finally arrives, it will be because of many magnificent women,” said Oprah.

At another time, he praised the statements made by women who were victims of abuse, especially amid the #MeToo movement.

• Michelle Yeoh on behalf of minorities in Hollywood (2023)

Michelle Yeoh received the Golden Globe for Best Comedy Actress in 2023 for “Everything Everywhere at Once”.

The actress spoke in favor of minorities in Hollywood and recalled the beginning of her career. “I remember when I first came to Hollywood, it was a dream come true until I got here. I came here and was told: 'You are a minority'. Someone asked me: 'Do you speak English?'. And I said 'Yes, the flight here was about 13 hours, so I learned along the way'.”

Michelle also generated a comical moment in the speech. At the end of her speech, the event's production team played a song to end and she replied: “Shut up, please. I can hit you.”