And we’re off! Seth Meyers kicked off the 2018 Golden Globe Awards on Sunday, January 7, with an opening monologue that tackled the sweeping sexual harassment scandal in Hollywood.
“This was the year of big little lies and get out, and also the television series Big Little Lies and the movie Get Out,” the late-night host, 44, quipped on stage at The Beverly Hilton hotel in Beverly Hills. “There’s a new era underway and I can tell because it’s been years since a white man was this nervous in Hollywood. … For the male nominees in the room tonight, this will be the first time in three months it won’t be terrifying to hear your name read out loud.”
Meyers went on to “address the elephant in the room,” which, of course, was the noticeable absence of film producer Harvey Weinstein, who was the first Hollywood heavyweight to be accused of sexual misconduct before the #MeToo movement began last fall. “Don’t worry, he’ll be back in 20 years when he becomes the first person ever booed during the In Memoriam,” the Saturday Night Live alum said.
He then targeted Kevin Spacey and Woody Allen, both of whom have also been accused of misconduct. “’Call Me by Your Name is a coming-of-age story,’ said Kevin Spacey…,” Meyers began, to which Billy Eichner, who was sitting in the audience, finished, “You lost me at ‘of age.’”
Meyers ended his monologue by thanking the women in the room and giving a shout-out to the Time’s Up movement, which aims to fight sexual harassment, assault and inequality in the workplace. “People in this room worked really hard to get here, but it’s clearer now than ever before that the women had to work even harder,” he said. “So, thank you for all the amazing work that you’ve all done and continue to do.”
Leading up to Sunday’s ceremony, the comedian told Us Weekly exclusively that his monologue would cover some of the biggest stories in the news as of late, including the sexual harassment scandal.
“We like talking about the things other people are talking about,” he told Us at a Globes preview event in Beverly Hills on Thursday, January 4. “We are in a unique situation this year where more than any one movie or any one TV show, there’s this other thing that everybody’s talking about, so we don’t want to ignore it, but we also want to make sure that once we get past it, we can turn it over to the people who did great work.”
