Golden Globes opening monologue

Seth Meyers doesn't pull punches in Golden Globes opening monologue

By Alyssa Pereira

Teasers for the 75th annual Golden Globes featured host Seth Meyers noting that Hollywood had "a lot to talk about" at this year's ceremony.

Between the Harvey Weinstein scandal, the #MeToo movement and the Time's Up campaign, he's right.

On Sunday, Jan. 7, Meyers launched into his opening monologue without shying away from the topics of the day, beginning his speech with, "Ladies and remaining gentlemen ... It's 2018; marijuana is allowed and sexual harassment finally isn't."

Meyers, who is hosting the Globes for the first time, delivered joke after joke from there, targeting accused Hollywood personalities like Harvey Weinstein ("the elephant not in the room"), Kevin Spacey and Woody Allen.

"There's a new era underway and I can tell because it's been years since a white man's been this nervous in Hollywood," he said, adding, "This will be the first time in three months it won't be terrifying to hear your name read out loud."

Meyers perhaps took a misstep in his addressing of the criticism that a woman or person of color, rather than a heterosexual white male, should be hosting this year's Golden Globes, given the current social climate and Time's Up movement. Rather than getting serious, he made light of the idea.

"They tried to get a woman to host this show, they really did," he noted. "They said, 'Hey, how'd you like to come and be judged by some of the most powerful people in Hollywood?' And they said, 'Hmm, where is it?' And they said, 'It's at a hotel.' Long story short, I'm your host tonight."

President Donald Trump, of course, wasn't immune during the awards show. Joking about the phrase "Hollywood Foreign Press," Meyers suggested that no other phrase could make him angrier. "Hollywood. Foreign. Press," he reiterated. "The only name that would make him angrier would be the Hillary Mexico Salad Association."

But in his conclusion, Meyers was a bit more earnest. "People in this room worked really hard to get here ... the women had to work even harder," he said. "I look forward to you leading us into whatever comes next."