WASHINGTON — This year at the Golden Globes, there was no Meryl Streep calling out Donald Trump for his attacks on journalists and mocking of the disabled. There was no Oprah Winfrey, offering up an inspirational contrast to the rhetoric coming out of the White House.
In fact, there weren’t all that many references to Trump at all, save for a couple of mentions of the border wall.
Instead, the most biting comment was reserved for former Vice President Dick Cheney, hardly a surprise as he is the subject of Adam McKay’s award-season favorite “Vice.” When he accepted the prize for lead actor in a musical or comedy film for his role as Cheney, Christian Bale said, “Thank you to Satan for giving me inspiration on how to play this role.”
He also said McKay, in casting Cheney, wanted to find “somebody that can be absolutely charisma-free and reviled by everybody,” and that he will be “cornering the market on the charisma-free a–holes.”
“What do you think, Mitch McConnell next?” Bale said.
Cheney’s daughter, Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), fired back at Bale via Twitter after his speech, posting an old headline about Bale being arrested after he was accused of assault by his mother and sister. He has denied the charges, which were dismissed over lack of evidence.
Related
But “Vice” did not win in the best motion picture comedy or musical category, depriving McKay himself from talking more about the vice president. He’ll get a chance on Wednesday, when he headlines a screening of the movie in Washington at the Newseum.
Alfonso Cuaron, winning for directing “Roma,” talked of cinema being “at its best when it tears down walls and builds bridges to other cultures,” while producer Brad Simpson, accepting the TV miniseries award for “American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace,” said that the hate that existed 20 years ago, when Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and the Defense of Marriage Act were still in force, is still present today. “Our show is a period piece, but the forces are not historical,” he said. “They’re here, they’re with us, and we must resist.”
One ever-present theme that carried over from last year was of diversity and representation. Sandra Oh, hosting with Andy Samberg, said that she agreed to host the show “because I wanted to be here and look out onto this audience and witness this moment of change. I am not fooling myself. Next year could be different and probably will be. But right now this moment is real.” Regina King committed to producing projects that included at least 50% women on their staffs.
The show also was heavy in expletives, albeit faithfully bleeped by NBC censors. The shutdown forced the FCC to suspend operations last week, but the agency can still act on complaints after it ends.
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai wrote last week, “I’ll be on the job for the duration and there’s also a sufficiently long statute of limitations, @NotThatRKelly, so I’d advise against trying any &$^#*%!”