There was much controversy and media coverage over the Golden Globes coming back after their forced hiatus. Jerrod Carmichael, the host of the 80th Golden Globes, did not miss his opportunity to speak out on the controversy, and point out that he, a black man, was chosen as the host after the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (H.F.P.A.), the organization that runs the Golden Globes, was caught in a racial scandal. This racial scandal, where it was discovered that the H.F.P.A. did not have any racial diversity on its board, while also taking bribes from movies and TV shows so that they could get nominations, causing the Golden Globes to not be televised last year. Carmichael knew he was a part of the H.F.P.A.’s plan to reconstruct their image and appear more diverse to the media, and his candidness with the audience set the tone for the award show. 

The H.F.P.A. has made reforms to its voting body in order to be more inclusive and have more racial diversity. Billboard reported that H.F.P.A. added 103 new voters, which increased representation for Black voters to 13.6%, 22.3% Latinx, 11.7% Asian, 10.7% Middle Eastern and 41.7% White. While the numbers are still incredibly small, it is an increase from no Black voters in 2021. 

Many celebrities still attended despite the controversies. There were many notable attendees such as Viola Davis (“The Woman King”), Andrew Garfield (“Under the Banner of Heaven”), Austin Butler (“Elvis), Anya Taylor-Joy (“The Menu”), Julia Garner (“Ozark”) and Jessic Betts (“Dahmer”). The fashion reviews were raving about the statements that the nominees were making. Eddie Redmayne (“The Good Nurse”) stepped out in a Valentino brown suit adorned with an oversized brown silk rose on the lapel. Attending her first major event post-pregnancy, Rihanna wore an elegant black Schiaparelli dress paired with a voluminous black floor length velvet shawl. Overall, the attendees did not cause any fashion atrocities in the news. 

The awards themselves were intriguing because of the excitement over “Better Call Saul” and “House of the Dragon,” in a sense, returning to the nomination lists as they are both prequels of the legendary TV shows, “Breaking Bad” and “Game of Thrones,” respectively. For the past few years, “Ozark” and “The Crown” have gone head to head in the Drama Series categories. This awards show recognized the first time all four would be going against each other creating a tough competition. In the end, “House of the Dragon” prevailed in winning the Best Drama Series. Another tough category with lots of great nominees was Best Actress in a Drama TV Series. The nominees included Emma D’Arcy (“House of the Dragon”), Laura Linney (“Ozark”), Imelda Stauton (“The Crown”), Hilary Swank (“Alaska Daily”) and Zendaya (“Euphoria”). Zendaya came out of this battle as the victor for her role as Rue Bennett. Not only is Zendaya an actress in “Euphoria,” she is also one of its executive producers.

However, Entertainment Weekly, along with the general public, was distressed to see the stars’ harsh and rude reactions to the play-off piano music. Colin Farrell, Michelle Yeoh and Austin Butler all made sarcastic or direct dismissive comments to the pianist, Chloe Flower, who tried to cut their victory speeches short. These sharp-tongued comments showed the diva that many believe lives inside all movie stars. 

The H.F.P.A. is hoping that these big moments from the 2023 Golden Globes are enough to bring them back into the good graces of public opinion. And considering the high media coverage on this event, it appears that they have at least retained their relevance.