Whether or not one enjoys Hollywood pop culture, award shows will always prove entertaining because of the hilariously sassy moments that unfold amongst the celebrities in attendance. This year’s Golden Globes proved to be no exception. Here are five classically sassy interactions that will set the 2016 Golden Globes apart from its predecessors:
1. Taraji P. Henson
Henson, who plays Cookie Lyon on the show "Empire," won a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a TV Series Drama. Upon accepting her win, she brought her character to life in the most literal way possible: by actually passing out cookies to everyone in the audience with Leonardo DiCaprio getting a special shout out because he is adorable and sweet and in fact a cookie himself:
During her acceptance speech, Henson brought more sass to the table when she noticed the teleprompter telling her to finish quickly. She defied this order, asserting her right to bask in the moment:
2. Leonardo DiCaprio
Another iconic acceptance speech moment came from DiCaprio, who picked up Best Actor in a Motion Picture Drama for "The Revenant." The setting and plot of the film involve Native American tribes, and DiCaprio acknowledged these tribes as well as all indigenous peoples of the world when he dedicated a significant portion of his speech to discussing their rights to their land and history. While this was not an obviously sassy move, it was bold nonetheless of DiCaprio to devote a majority of his speech to a social justice message.
DiCaprio also presented viewers with pure entertainment when he made this expression as Lady Gaga walked past him to accept her award. He later explained that he and Gaga are on good terms, and actually laughed about the incident afterwards.
3. Jamie Foxx
Jamie Foxx had a couple sassy moments during the award show. The first one arose when he announced the winner for Best Original Score, where he parodied Steve Harvey’s Miss America debacle by declaring "Straight Outta Compton" as the recipient when in reality the card listed "The Hateful Eight" as the winner. While this joke was humorous and a clever imitation of a hilarious TV mishap, it was also smart in that it pointed to the fact that "Straight Outta Compton" was not nominated for the category despite its well-received soundtrack.
When Quentin Tarantino came forward to accept the award on behalf of Ennio Morricone for "The Hateful Eight," Foxx showcased some brilliant sass when Tarantino described movie composing as “ghetto.” Foxx rightly grimaced onstage at the derogatory usage of the term.
4. Aziz Ansari
Ansari received a nomination for Best Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy for his role in "Master of None."Also included in this category was Jeffrey Tambor for "Transparent." Ansari was clearly quite aware of this fact, for when the announcers listed Ansari as a nominee, the camera panned to him and found this book in his hands.
5. Eva Longoria & America Ferrera
Perhaps the most iconic 2016 Golden Globes moment of all appeared in a dialogue between Eva Longoria and America Ferrera, which was so sassy that it inspired visions of the pair of one day hosting an award show together. Their banter highlighted the problem of stereotyping in Hollywood, an error the Golden Globes Twitter account committed when it mistakenly tagged Gina Rodriguez in a photo of America Ferrera.
The sassiness and boldness that award shows bring to the table are what make the lengthy few hours of speeches and applause bearable to watch. Not only are these moments entertaining, but they also have the potential to highlight important social issues of which viewers may not have been previously aware. Whatever takeaways people drew from the 2016 Golden Globes, hopefully one of them was a laugh or amused reaction – it never hurts to sit back and just enjoy Hollywood once in a while.
