Mj Rodriguez became the first-ever trans woman actor to win the Golden Globes, that was held on Sunday. Rodriguez won in the Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Drama category for her show Pose.
Calling herself a “young Black Latina girl from Newark, New Jersey who had a dream,” in an Instagram post, Rodriguez said that her win will open the door for many young talented individuals. “They will see that it is more than possible,” she wrote.
Netflix’s The Power of the Dog bagged the best film award as well as the best director award for Jane Campion, while Kodi Smit-McPhee won in the supporting actor category for his role in the film.
The 2022 edition of the Golden Globes also saw Will Smith receive the Best Actor in a Motion Picture Drama award for his film King Richard, while Nicole Kidman won Best Actress in the same category for Being the Ricardos. Other actors of colour who were honoured included O Yeong-su of Squid Game, who won Best Supporting Actor – Television, and Ariana DeBose and Rachel Zegler of Steven Spielberg‘s West Side Story, who bagged awards in the supporting and lead actor categories, respectively.
Amazon Prime Video’s Black-led show The Underground Railroad won in the Best Television Limited Series category.
Japan’s Drive My Car bagged the best film award in the non-English language category.
HBO’s television drama show on the family of a media mogul, Succession, won three of its five nominations. It was named Best Television Series, and two of its actors, Jeremy Strong and Sarah Snook, won in the lead and supporting acting categories, respectively.
Disney’s Encanto won the Best Animated Motion Picture Award.
However, despite the Golden Globes this year reflecting more diversity than heretofore, its curator Hollywood Foreign Press Association was still shunned by the industry at large. Though all the major studios won at least one award, none acknowledged their wins.
The HFPA-curated event was also forced to proceed with no audience, including celebrities or media, for the first time ever owing to the controversy that the association has been embroiled in since 2021.
After an LA Times investigation revealed in February last year, that there were no Black members among the 87 HFPA members, the association was criticised for its lack of diversity, which many said was also reflected in its awarding decisions.
The 2021 Golden Globe nominations, for instance, were called out for not including the Black-led films Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and Da 5 Bloods, both of which were Oscar frontrunners.
Although the 2021 edition of the awards was conducted without any impediments, as the criticisms around the HFPA grew following the LA Times report, actor Tom Cruise returned his three Golden Globe awards, while stars such as Scarlett Johansson and Mark Ruffalo asked others in Hollywood to “step back” from the HFPA.
All the major studios distanced themselves from the association later that year and called for tangible reforms. The Golden Globes’ long-time broadcasting partner NBC also announced its detachment from the awards.
Following all the criticism, the HFPA attempted to revamp its organisation and membership structure, and introduced reforms aimed at ensuring diversity. However, these moves proved to not be good enough and the boycott against the association ended up affecting this year’s edition of the Golden Globes.
When the 2022 nominations were announced, the HFPA was given the cold shoulder by the likes of Netflix, Amazon Studios, and Warner Bros, which acknowledged the Critics Choice Awards nods that were announced the same day, but not the Golden Globes.
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And on Sunday, with zero celebrities in attendance and almost the entire film industry boycotting it – notable exceptions being actors Jamie Lee Curtis and Arnold Schwarzenneger, who shared virtual notes on the event – the association brought on board members of the non-profit organisations that the HFPA provides grants and funds for, as award presenters.
Moreover, with its broadcasting partner gone, the HFPA was left with no other option but to limit itself to announcing the winners on social media and on its official website.