How Dirty Jokes and Cringing Faces Made the Golden Globes Memorable

Back to host for a record fifth time, Ricky Gervais wasted next to no time in pushing the proverbial envelope. Everything from Felicity Huffman’s legal troubles to Jeffrey Epstein’s suicide and Leonardo DiCaprio’s dating history provided fodder for his controversial sense of humor, which was mostly met by groans. However, it was Tom Hanks wincing in response that audiences will remember long after.

Taking home the very first award of the night was Ramy Youssef for his lead role in semi-autobiographical comedy series, Ramy. While he’s not the first Muslim nor the first Egyptian-American to win, he is the first to thank God in both Arabic and English – so as not to alarm the folks at The Beverly Hilton, of course. Youssef beat out the big-name likes of Paul Rudd and Michael Douglas in the Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy category.

Winning yet again for her role in Fleabag – this time Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy – Phoebe Waller-Bridge thanked her co-star Andrew Scott, rightfully stating that he could “have chemistry with a pebble”. But it was her shout-out to Barack Obama that made us laugh aloud. “I have to thank Obama for putting us on his list. Personally, he’s always been on mine. And if you don’t get that, watch season one of Fleabag,” she said.

While most of us will likely never make it to an awards ceremony of this level, we do have a sense of how hot it gets, courtesy of Jason Momoa. He appeared on the red carpet in a green jacket, only to ditch it for a tank top once the event kicked off.

The sobfest of the night, meanwhile, came courtesy of Tom Hanks, who accepted the Cecil B. DeMille Award for his “outstanding contributions to the world of entertainment” with a speech that paid tribute to his family, his co-stars, and those who work on film sets but are often not recognized for their efforts.

Awkwafina has officially made history as the first actress of Asian descent to win a Golden Globe for best actress in a comedy. She won for her role in The Farewell and dedicated her award to her father, saying, “I told you I’d get a job, dad.”

Leave it to Beyoncé and Jay-Z to skip the red carpet and arrive late – yet still cause a stir. It’s not often that the two make appearances at awards shows together, but it’s the gigantic gold sleeves on Bey’s black dress that everyone’s still talking about.