Advertisement

Watch the 2021 Golden Globes’ cringe-inducing moments that went viral

Laura Dern presents a Golden Globe to Daniel Kaluuya at Sunday's ceremony.
(Christopher Polk / NBC)
Share

Along with a mix of high and low fashion ranging from ball gowns and drop earrings to tie-dye hoodies and pajamas, Sunday’s 78th Golden Globe Awards had its share of technical difficulties and Freudian slips — much like the myriad Zoom calls we all deal with these pandemic days.

Here are a few of the most notable gaffes from the partly virtual ceremony, which was cohosted by Tina Fey and Amy Poehler from opposite coasts and featured nominees around the world.

Daniel Kaluuya on mute

Advertisement

Right out of the gate, Kaluuya was unable to immediately react to his win for best supporting actor for his work in “Judas and the Black Messiah.” The actor dove into his speech but the sound failed to come through. The camera then cut back to presenter Laura Dern, who apologized for the “bad connection.”

Eventually, Kaluuya was able to speak. “You did me dirty!” he repeated before giving a speech that included a quote from late rapper Nipsey Hussle.

Catherine O’Hara’s bewildering soundtrack

After winning for best actress in a TV series, O’Hara put down what appeared to be a martini to deliver her acceptance speech. Her husband’s decision to provide a little mood music using his phone confused many, though.

The “Schitt’s Creek” star, who eventually had to shout over the noise, turned to look at her hubby, production designer Bo Welch, and said: “Seriously?”

Some surmised that Welch meant it as a joke to suggest that her speech was running long. (And O’Hara did seem to be in on the joke.) Whatever it was, lots of viewers did not get it, though some appreciated the chaos.

Advertisement

Tracy Morgan gets tongue-tied

Not all glitches were tech-related. When presenting the award for original score, Morgan accidentally referred to Pixar’s “Soul” as “Sal,” prompting silly social media responses:

Morgan later apologized for the slip in a tweet, saying he had post-awards show snacks on his mind: “Sorry SOUL. I was thinking about the pizza I was going to get from my guy SAL on the way home!!”

Advertisement

Host Fey, however, made sure to rub it in, referring to Morgan, her former “30 Rock” castmate, as a “beautiful sal” before poking fun at accusations of self-dealing and ethical lapses at the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn. and Jason Sudeikis’ buzzed-about hoodie.

“Back in the Before Times,” she said, “celebrities would come to award shows like this, and we’d get the craziest swag bags, full of Champagne, jewelry, free trips.”

“True story: I have a KitchenAid mixer that I got that says ‘Hollywood’ on the side — in diamonds,” Fey added.

“Yeah, and I got a bag of solid gold Doritos,” said Poehler.

Looking back on the evening’s glitches, Poehler added: “Those are the messy things we love about the Globes.”

Here’s our developing coverage of the 2021 Golden Globes, the HFPA and the storytelling being honored.

Feb. 28, 2021

Advertisement