As Hollywood’s elite met to honor the year’s best in film and television, the 2025 Golden Globes featured a lively mix of humor and moving moments. To set a lively mood, first-time host Nikki Glaser expertly mixed playful teasing with sharp jabs at the stars in attendance.
In her opening speech, Glaser made fun of several famous people, such as Timothée Chalamet, Harrison Ford, and Nicole Kidman. She used political humor and a smart reference to the “holding space” scene from Wicked that went viral. This theme ran through the whole night. At the end of the segment, Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo did a surprise performance that brought back memories of their famous conversation.
In her acceptance speech for Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture for her part in “Emilia Pérez,” Zoe Saldana experienced one of the night’s most moving moments. With tears in her eyes, Saldaña told her fellow nominees, including Selena Gomez, how much she appreciated them. “All I have witnessed is just us showing up for each other and celebrating each other, and it’s just so beautiful,” she said, tears welling up.
Many funny things happened, especially when Canadian stars Seth Rogen and Catherine O’Hara presented awards and kept the crowd laughing. Their funny skit about made-up Canadian entertainment awards, like the “Beaver” and “Golden Antler,” made fun of the entertainment business in their country.
Kieran Culkin relaxed things during his acceptance speech for Best Supporting Actor in a Film. He said that he and his wife had a tequila shot with Mario Lopez just before going on stage. “The whole speech is gone,” Culkin joked, making everyone laugh as he talked about his early job success.
It was “Hacks” that won the award for Best Comedy Series. “We do have to shoot tomorrow, and we have a call time of 6 a.m., so if Jean Smart asks you for a shot, please do not give it to her,” co-creator Paul W. Downs said in his acceptance speech, using humor to request the audience’s assistance.
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Brady Corbet, director of The Brutalist, who won both Best Drama Movie and Best Film Director, gave a powerful speech to end the night. In his speech, Corbet called for filmmakers to have more artistic freedom. He did this by talking about how his film was told it was “un-distributable” and “wouldn’t work” before it became an unexpected hit.
This year’s Golden Globes were a good mix of entertainment and honoring the business. Many memorable moments at the event were talked about in the audience and on social media. They showed that realness and spontaneous humor can work well at even the most important events in Hollywood.
