The annual Golden Globes has returned once again like it always does, premiering January 10 at 5:00 p.m. This Golden Globes has been the most diverse lineup of nominees and winners we’ve seen in a long time, which is refreshing to see as according to an article by Insider about the Oscars.

“In the top categories, 89% of nominations went to white people,” Insider found.

The Golden Globes is following in the footsteps of progression. The most notable step forward being Michaela Jaé Rodriguez winning Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Drama TV series, for her performance in Pose. She’s the first ever trans woman to win a Golden Globe. This year’s Golden Globes is a breakthrough; perhaps the biggest breakthrough since Ariana DeBose, who made history when she took home Best Supporting Actress for her role in Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story, became the first queer woman of color to win an academy award March 27, 2022.

The Golden Globes has such an enormous viewership and platform. To recognize talent from someone who is trans is great, and I hope more award ceremonies follow in its path. Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan from Everything Everywhere All At Once won Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy Motion Picture and Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture. 

They even had Jerrod Carmichael host, which has recently sparked controversy across social media sites like Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

“I’ll tell you all why I’m here, I’m here because I’m black,” Carmichael said in his opening monologue. Carmicheal seemed to argue how from all this diversity, the Golden Globes has worsened itself.

“The Golden Globe Awards did not air last year,” he said. “I won’t say they were a racist organization, but they didn’t have a single Black member until George Floyd died, so do with that information what you will.”

It would appear that Carmichael sees all this diversity as nothing more than big-time corporations using the tragic George Floyd murder as a scapegoat to try and shill its way into the mainstream; which by itself, the distrust among large organizations seems to be universally understood. However, it is interesting to see someone from the African American community get upset and lament how the Golden Globes try to get more of a variety of participants. 

At the end of the day, all these award ceremonies seem to be negligible. Too much diversity, not enough diversity, awards and especially award shows, are meaningless. They’re designed to give rich celebrities big ego boosts. All of its self-assigned prestige is an illusion, so I try to take what the Golden Globes does, in terms of throwing award banquets, with a grain of salt.