Golden Globes 2024: 5 funniest speeches from the awards ceremony over the years

The 81st Golden Globe Awards will be the first major broadcast of awards season. The Golden Globe Awards had long been one of the highest-profile awards season broadcasts, second only to the Oscars. The show was touted as an A-list party whose hosts often took a more irreverent tone than their Academy counterparts. (Also Read: Comedian Jo Koy to host Golden Globes, chosen for his ‘infectious energy and relatable humour’)
Here are the funniest speeches from the Globes over the years:
When British actor Ricky Gervais won the Golden Globe for Best Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy for The Office in 2004, he had to be reminded by his co-stars to thank the Hollywood Film Press Association. He attributed the goof-up to him being British. “We ruled the world before you,” he said, evoking widespread laughter in the audience.
After bagging a Golden Globe for her performance in Ang Lee’s 1995 period drama Sense and Sensibility, Emma Thompson went on to read a hilarious account of how author Jane Austen would’ve explained the experience of attending the awards ceremony.
Steve Carell also won the same award as Ricky Gervais in 2006 for the US adaptation of The Office. He joked that since he didn’t know how to write an acceptance speech, his wife Nancy Carell did the honours for him. Then he went on to thank his wife – twice! “Also to my wife, for giving me two children, as painful as labour would’ve been,” Steve read out.
While presenting an award at the 2017 ceremony, Sofia Vergara intentionally mispronounced “Golden Globes has an annual tradition” as “Golden Globes has an anal tradition,” referring to the HFPA’s rather contentious reputation.
When the Black actor won a Globe for her performance in Empire in 2016, she was given a cue at the podium to wrap up her acceptance speech, only for her to respond with, “I’ve waited 20 years for this. You’re going to wait.”
The 81st Golden Globe Awards will stream in India on January 8 at 6:30 AM exclusively on Lionsgate Play.