8 of the most memorable awards speeches

The #MeToo and Time’s Up anti-sexual harassment movements dominated this year’s Golden Globes, but this is not the first time actors have sought to politicize a Hollywood awards ceremony. In 1973, both Marlon Brando and Apache actor and civil rights activist Sacheen Littlefeather used Brando’s Best Actor win for The Godfather as a platform to protest the entertainment industry’s treatment of Native Americans. With Brando boycotting the awards, Littlefeather respectfully rejected the Best Actor honor on his behalf, giving an emotive statement summarizing the seven pages written by Brando, which the Academy refused to let her read in its entirety.

At the 2001 Oscars ceremony, an elated Julia Roberts was determined to enjoy her first Academy win and third nomination for Erin Brockovich. Roberts hilariously advised the orchestra conductor – or “stick man” – that she may be a while: “Sir, you’re doing a great job, but you’re so quick with that stick, so why don’t you sit, because I may never be here again.” Overwhelmed with joy at her victory, she finished by exclaiming: “I love the world. I’m so happy. Thank you!”

Halle Berry’s Best Actress Oscar for her role in Monster’s Ball made her the only woman of color to ever receive the honor. While accepting her historic award, an emotional Berry apologized for being unable to speak, eventually declaring that: “This moment is so much bigger than me […] It’s for the women that stand beside me: Jada Pinkett, Angela Bassett, Vivica Fox. And it’s for every nameless, faceless woman of color that now has a chance because this door tonight has been opened.” Berry went on to thank numerous people, including Oprah Winfrey “for being the best role model any girl can have”. Berry remains the only woman of color to win in the category.

Frances McDormand warned us at this year’s BAFTAs that she has “a little trouble with compliance”, so naturally her acceptance speech for her Best Actress win, for her role in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, packed a political punch. In typically eccentric style, McDormand first compared her elation to that of Olympic snowboarder Chloe Kim, before drawing her face into a serious expression, placing her golden statue on the floor, and asking every other female nominee to stand with her in a powerful show of unity. She then invited the industry to demand inclusion riders, whereby actors can request at least 50% diversity in cast and crew, declaring: “Look around, everybody. Look around, ladies and gentlemen, because we all have stories to tell and projects we need financed.”

Before her 2017 Oscar win for Fences, Viola Davis became the first woman of color to win a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for How to Get Away with Murder, and she dedicated her acceptance speech to talking about the inequalities faced by, and the achievements of, women of color. She begins her impactful speech with a powerful quote on racial inequality by Harriet Tubman, following it with the assertion that: “The only thing that separates women of color from anyone else is opportunity. You cannot win an Emmy for roles that are simply not there.” Davis goes on to thank the writers creating compelling, complex leading roles for women of color, and the people who have “redefined what it means to be beautiful, to be sexy, to be a leading woman, to be black.”

Receiving the award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Boyhood, Patricia Arquette used her win as a platform to deliver a powerful message on gender equality and the Hollywood pay gap. Arquette, reading passionately from a piece of white paper, closed her speech with a stirring address: “To every woman who gave birth, to every tax payer and citizen of this nation. We have fought for everybody else’s equal rights, it’s our time to have wage equality once and for all and equal rights for women in the United States of America.” The speech was met with enthusiastic applause from the audience and drew widespread praise, but Arquette has since said she believes it has cost her roles.

Award acceptance speeches don’t normally prompt immediate cries for the winner to run for office, but that was the overwhelming response to Oprah Winfrey’s presidential address at this year’s Golden Globes. Accepting the Cecil B. DeMille Award, Winfrey delivered a rousing speech on sexual harassment, racial injustice and press freedom that perfectly articulated the politically charged mood of the evening. Reciting entirely from memory, Winfrey stressed the importance of telling your truth: “For too long, women have not been heard or believed if they dare speak the truth to the power of those men. But their time is up. Their time is up.” It was so popular that it featured on Spotify’s New Music Friday playlist.

Gwyneth Paltrow’s weepy acknowledgements are perhaps remembered as the most tearful speech of all time. Paltrow begins crying as soon as she is announced as the winner of the Academy Award for Best Actress for her turn in Shakespeare in Love, and has to fight back tears throughout her show of thanks. Thanking the Academy first, she goes on to express her admiration for her fellow nominees Emily Watson, Fernanda Montenegro, Cate Blanchett and Meryl Streep, calling Streep “the greatest one who ever was”, as well as name-checking multiple members of her family.

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