The Golden Globes returned to live TV on Jan. 10 after spending 2022 banished from the realm of broadcast awards shows. The Globes, which is widely seen as the show that kicks off awards season in Hollywood and is a reliably star-studded affair to boot, was effectively boycotted by networks, stars and studios due to what many saw as the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s lack of diversity and its insufficient response to those who urged the organization, which conducts the Globes, to make meaningful internal changes.
As the evening’s host, Jerrod Carmichael tackled the elephant in the room with unblinking candor. “I’ll tell you what – I’m here ‘cause I’m Black,” he said, noting that the HFPA had “no Black members until George Floyd died.”
Of receiving the call to host the 2023 broadcast, Carmichael said producer Stephen Hill rang him while he was making herbal tea. “One minute you’re making mint tea at home. The next you’re invited to be the Black face of an embattled white organization,” he deadpanned. “Life really comes at you fast.”
Seeking guidance before agreeing to host, Carmichael said he consulted with “the home girl Avery, [who] for the sake of this monologue represents every Black person in America.” Her response was simple: it’s about the money. When the comedian told her the HFPA was doling out $500,000 for him to do the gig, she replied, “put on a good suit and take that white people money.” Seems like the beginning of salary transparency for Globes hosts, at the very least.
Plus, as he put it, the gig came with strong job security. Describing his refusal to have a one-on-one meeting with the president of the org, Helen Hoehne, despite her insistence, he joked, “They haven’t had a Black host in 79 years, and they’re gonna fire the first one? I’m unfire-able.”
Concluding his monologue, Carmichael said the real reason he took the gig was to host a show full of artists he admired. And when he wrapped, it appeared as if the entire room shared a long, slow exhale.
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