Leave it to Oprah Winfrey to say it best.
In accepting her Cecil B. DeMille Award at the Golden Globes ceremony Sunday night, the actress and media mogul had a rousing message for all the women and young girls watching at home:
“A new day is on the horizon.”
During a night dominated by female solidarity and open outrage over the plague of sexual harassment that has spread throughout the entertainment industry and beyond, Winfrey delivered an electrifying speech that drew thunderous applause and multiple standing ovations and set social media sites on fire.
#Oprah can straight up make this her first speech announcing that she’s running for President in 2020.
— Wajahat Ali (@WajahatAli) January 8, 2018
After accepting her award, Winfrey recalled how inspired she was as a girl in 1964 to see Sidney Poitier become the first black man honored with an Academy Award. Poitier, she noted, went on to earn the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 1982. And now, she said, young girls may be inspired by the fact that she has become the first black woman to be honored with the same award.
Winfrey went on to express her gratitude “to all the women who have endured years of abuse and assault because they, like my mother, had children to feed and bills to pay and dreams to pursue,” she said. “They’re the women whose names we’ll never know.”
She continued with the story of Recy Taylor, a black woman who was raped in 1944 by six men who were never prosecuted. Taylor died last month at the age of 97.
“She lived — as we all have lived — in a culture broken by brutally powerful men,” Winfrey said. “For too long women have not been heard or believed if they dared to speak their truth to the power of those men. But their time is up. Their time is up!”
“I want all the girls watching to know a new day is on the horizon,” Winfery continued. “And when that new day finally dawns, it will be because of a lot of magnificent women, many of whom are right here in this room tonight, and some pretty phenomenal men, fighting hard to make sure they are the leaders to take us to the time where nobody has to say ‘me too’ again.”
Here’s a look at some of the other best moments and surprises from the Golden Globe Awards:
HOST WITH THE MOST: First-time Golden Globes emcee Seth Meyers had the unenviable task of striking a balance between jovial celebration and serious commentary during the ceremony. He did just fine, confronting the elephant in the room right from the start of his opening monologue.
“Happy new year, Hollywood. It’s 2018. Marijuana is finally allowed and sexual harassment finally isn’t,” he declared to rousing cheers.
AN INSPIRATIONAL PRESENCE: A couple of winners — James Franco and Allison Janney — took time to acknowledge the people who served as inspiration for the films in which they starred.
Franco, who played Tommy Wiseau in “The Disaster Artist,” brought Wiseau up to the stage with him. Janney, who played Tonya Harding’s mother in “I, Tonya” pointed out that the former figure skater was among the celebrities in the audience.
When Janney appeared with Sebastian Stan to introduce the film, she paid homage to her character by wearing a fake bird on her shoulder.
MARVELOUS SURPRISE: The Hollywood Foreign Press has a history of making stunning choices and honoring under-the-radar television shows. That trend continued as “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” — a series that can be found on Amazon Prime — was named TV’s top comedy.
It was the sixth straight year that a first-time nominee captured the prize.
Rachel Brosnahan, the star of “Maisel,” was also honored as the best actress in a comedy series.
‘BIG LITTLE LIES’ RULES: It was certainly appropriate that, on a night dominated by talk of female empowerment, a limited series chock full of talented women struck gold.
HBO’s “Big Little Lies” was honored as the year’s best limited series or movie, in addition to three acting awards.
Reese Witherspoon, who produced the series with Nicole Kidman, thanked women who “broke their silence this year, and spoke up about abuse and harassment.”
“We see you. We hear you. And we will tell your stories,” she added.
LEGENDS IN THE HOUSE: Barbra Streisand was there. So was Kirk Douglas and even legendary funny woman Carol Burnett.
The latter appeared as a presenter alongside “Friends” alum Jennifer Aniston, who promptly gushed that Burnett was her TV idol.
“I’m happy that you’re coming back to television,” Burnett replied in perfect deadpan. “‘Will & Grace’ was one of my favorite shows.”
