Golden Globes through the years: 39 biggest moments of all time

Winner for Most Unpredictable Award Show goes to the Golden Globes

You can always count on a wild, weird, and most importantly memorable night when it comes to the Golden Globes. From the hosts to the presenters to the honorees to the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and even the audience, it all makes up what is often the most surreal night in Hollywood that celebrates the year in television and film — with a big boost from the booze that keeps flowing all night. Saddest Shout Out? Most Memed? Best Jack Nicholson Moment? All those Golden Globe moments and more are ahead.

1986: Brightest Entrance

Whoopi Goldberg, who won a Best Actress award for her role in The Color Purple, took the stage in a show-stopping bright yellow tracksuit, white coat, and high-top Reebok sneakers. ''This is the stuff you dream about,'' said the sartorially challenged winner. ''I'm not going to lie. I've never seen all these people before!'' —Adrienne Day

1987: Best Signage

The hearing-impaired actress Marlee Matlin, who portrayed a deaf student in Children of a Lesser God, accepted her Best Actress award in sign language. ''I'm not much of a speaker, he is,'' she joked, pointing toward an interpreter that had joined her on the stage. ''I can't believe it. I'm shaking!'' —AD

1989: Best Act of Exorcism

Sigourney Weaver racked up two awards in '89: Best Supporting Actress for Working Girl, and — as part of a three-way tie with Shirley MacLaine (Madame Sousatzka) and Jodie Foster (The Accused) — Best Actress for her portrayal of anthropologist Dian Fossey in Gorillas in the Mist. But even after winning those kudos, she joked about being nervous for some very serious work... in Ghostbusters II: ''I don't get to be possessed this time. It's harder to be a straight person all the way through.'' —AD

1989: Best Aristotle Onassis Moment

Tom Hanks, who won a Best Actor award for his role in Big, also pocketed laughs with this quip directed at the Hollywood Foreign Press Association: ''I married a Greek babe, so I know what it means to have affection for foreigners.'' —AD

1996: Best Potty Humor

When Brad Pitt mounted the stage after winning the Best Supporting Actor award for 12 Monkeys, first on his thank-you list was not costar Bruce Willis, director Terry Gilliam, or then-girlfriend Gwyneth Paltrow. ''I'd like to thank... actually the makers of Kaopectate,'' said Pitt. ''They've done a great service for their fellow man.''

Caught nowhere near the men's room after the show, Pitt explained his choice. ''I have a nervous stomach, and it works. I'll be expecting those calls from Kaopectate any minute now.'' —Chris Nashawaty

1998: Worst Time for a Pit Stop

Christine Lahti had to be fetched from the ladies' room to claim her Best Actress in a TV Drama prize (for Chicago Hope). Cracked Shirley MacLaine, the trippy recipient of the Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement: ''I never saw someone practically accept [an award] while flushing the toilet.'' —Dave Karger

1998: Most Selfless Act

The showstopping antics of Ving Rhames were perfectly in keeping with the evening's loopy feel: Rhames tearfully turned over his Best Actor in a TV Movie award (for his role on HBO's Don King: Only in America) to fellow nominee Jack Lemmon. —DK

2000: Funniest Speech

Who cares that Jim Carrey was in the Globes' comedy category when Man in the Moon was a drama? He still gives the funniest acceptance speeches in the history of showbiz. ''I am the establishment I once rejected,'' said Carrey in accepting his second consecutive Best Actor award, having also won that award for The Truman Show in '99. ''I am the Tom Hanks of the Golden Globes.'' (Hanks won two Academy Awards in a row, for Philadelphia in '94 and Forrest Gump in '95.) —Ken Tucker

2000: Best Edward Scissorhands Tribute

Best song presenter Courtney Love both awed and cowed the audience when she showed up in a slashed-up blue Galliano dress that was a wardrobe malfunction waiting to happen. After acting miffed that R.E.M. wasn't nominated for ''The Great Beyond'' from Man in the Moon (in which she costarred), Love announced that Phil Collins had won for ''You'll Be in My Heart'' (from Tarzan) — then playfully refused to give Collins the trophy, before finally handing it to him. —Gary Susman

2001: Wackiest Presenter

Anybody who's watched a few awards shows knows there's a protocol for presenters to follow: They're supposed to get up on stage, crack a couple of lame jokes, name the nominees as clips play in the background, and then open the envelope and announce the winner. Apparently no one hipped Elizabeth Taylor to that script: The Hollywood legend immediately ripped open the envelope and came this close to prematurely revealing the winner of the night's big prize (Best Motion Picture Drama). As the crowd gasped and shouted for her to stop, Taylor, clearly confused (''What? I don't open this?''), ultimately had to get direction from Dick Clark. The icing on the deliciously dotty cake: Her legendary announcement of Glaaadiator! as the winner. —Dawnie Walton

2003: Best Trooper

Edie Falco, winning for her role in The Sopranos, was literally speechless... with laryngitis. She was unable to thank anyone, but she made a valiant try, croaking a few words of gratitude and looking as happy as she could before heading back to her table. —GS

2003: Best Jack Nicholson Moment

Jack Nicholson and the Golden Globes have been good to each other over the years. He's won six trophies and a lifetime achievement award, and in return, he's made memorable appearances. Accepting the Best Dramatic Actor award for About Schmidt, he said, ''I don't know whether to be happy or ashamed because I thought we made a comedy... Dermot Mulroney, his haircut alone should have let you know it was a comedy.'' He also praised costar Kathy Bates, referring to her as ''Bates Motel.'' His explanation for his free-flowing wit: ''I took a Valium tonight.'' Glad we can count on you, Jack. —GS

2004: Best Pace Setter

Mystic River's Tim Robbins won the first trophy of the evening, and his comments set the tone for the night. ''A good thing about this coming early,'' said the Best Supporting Actor winner (shown with presenter Meryl Streep), ''is I get to drink now.'' Robbins also forgot to thank his agent, which became a running joke in acceptance speeches throughout the evening. —GS

2004: Best Introduction to America

When Britcom The Office, on the little-seen BBC America cable channel, won an upset victory as Best Comedy Series, creator-star Ricky Gervais hardly knew what to say. ''I'm not from these parts,'' he explained. ''I'm from a little place called England. We used to run the world before you.'' He seemed just as surprised during his second win of the night, for Best Actor in a Comedy. He admitted he had nothing more to say and was ''just milking the time, really'' until the producers cued him off the stage. —GS

2005: Most Electrifying Speech

Some two hours into a disappointingly tame Globes telecast, and suddenly there was Jamie Foxx bringing a much-needed spark to the proceedings. His beautiful, meandering acceptance speech for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy (for Ray) ranged from hilarious (imitating his publicist) to heartbreaking (recognizing his late grandmother looking down on him), and for once, made us glad there was no orchestra to cut him off. —Michael Slezak

2005: Best Focus on the Family

Law & Order: SVU's underrated Mariska Hargitay paid moving tribute to her late mother, legendary screen siren Jayne Mansfield, and her dad, Mickey Hargitay, as she accepted her surprise win for Best Actress in a TV Drama. ''Forty-nine years ago, my mother accepted an award, and my father was with her,'' said a tearful Mariska. ''And I'm lucky enough tonight to have my father here with me.'' Could somebody pass the tissues? —MS

2006: Best Random Gimmick

Accepting the award for Best Actor in a Drama for his grouchy doctor role on Fox's House, Hugh Laurie noted that he had 172 names of people to thank. Since he knew, however, that no one watching had the patience for that, he drew three names at random out of his pocket; ''and everyone else can just lump it.'' The lucky name-drop recipients: Laurie's script supervisor, his hairstylist, and his agent. ''That's not my handwriting,'' Laurie said of the last slip of paper. —GS

2006: Best Political Joke

George Clooney seemed unprepared to win the first award of the night, Best Supporting Actor (for playing a CIA agent stationed in the Middle East in the movie Syriana). ''This is early, I haven't had a drink yet,'' he fretted. Among those he thanked was Jack Abramoff, the recently indicted Washington lobbyist. What kind of parents would name their kid Jack if his name also ended in ''off,'' Clooney wondered aloud. A few folks in Washington may be wondering the same thing. —GS

2007: Worst TV 'drama'

Backstage in the press room, the cast of Grey's Anatomy was asked a question about a now-infamous dustup in the fall of '06 involving Patrick Dempsey, Isaiah Washington, and T.R. Knight. (Washington reportedly used an anti-gay epithet about fellow cast member T.R. Knight; those reports subsequently prompted Knight to come out publicly.) Knight tried to lighten the mood by cracking in a goofy voice, ''What fight?!'' But Washington raced to the mic and dropped this rhetorical bomb: ''No, I did not call T.R. a f----t. Never happened.'' (Well, Mr. Washington, you kinda just did.) —Adam B. Vary

2007: Most Outrageous Speech

Really, would you have expected less from the Borat star? Accepting the Best Actor in a Comedy prize, British comic Sacha Baron Cohen gently corrected Warren Beatty on the pronunciation of ''Wawaweewa,'' then went into a long, vulgar, hilarious anecdote about his movie's notorious nude-wrestling scene, dwelling on costar Ken Davitian's private parts, particularly his ''wrinkled golden globes.'' After all that, he barely had time to thank the people who helped make Borat a hit: the filmmakers, and ''every American who hasn't sued me so far.'' —GS

2009: Best Long-Awaited Payoff

The sixth time was a charm for Kate Winslet, who took home twin trophies for her roles in Revolutionary Road and The Reader. During her Best Supporting Actress speech, she was breathlessly giddy, quipping about her ''habit of not winning things.'' Then, in glorious Winslet fashion, she was no less surprised to be named Best Actress later that evening. —Lanford Beard

2009: Best Acceptance Speech Middle Finger

Who doesn't love Tina Fey? BabsInLacrosse, DianeFan, and CougarLetter, that's who. During her Best Actress thank-yous, the 30 Rock star marveled at the great year she'd had, then told the audience, ''If you ever start to feel too good about yourself, they have this thing called the Internet.'' With a triumphant dig at haters everywhere, she singled out her three top trolls, telling them eloquently, ''You can suck it.'' —LB

2010: Saddest Shout-Out

Hollywood's own Miss Congeniality Sandra Bullock was a shoo-in for Best Actress thanks to her scrappy role in The Blind Side. She gave a tearful, poignant dedication to husband Jesse James, saying, ''I never knew what it felt like for someone to have my back.'' Sadly, just three months later, James was revealed to be a philanderer, and Bullock filed for divorce. —LB

2011: Most Memorable Laugh

It was the chortle that launched a thousand memes. When pregnant Natalie Portman took the stage to accept her Best Actress statuette for Black Swan, she noted that her fiancé/baby daddy Benjamin Millepied played a character in the film who declared he wouldn't have sex with her. Just in case we hadn't put the pieces together from her bulging belly, she hammered home the punch line, ''It's not true! He totally wants to sleep with me!'' Cringe. —LB

2011: Most Deliciously Nasty Host

With a lager on the podium and a veritable suicide bomb of a monologue in his heart, Ricky Gervais took the stage for a second year as host. Three hours later, he had lain waste to all of Hollywood — and, perhaps, the universe — with jabs at Angelina Jolie, Robert Downey Jr., the cast of Sex and the City 2, Charlie Sheen, and Scientology. He was met with bone-chilling glances and general A-list furor. In the end, all the uproar didn't make a lick of difference. Gervais was welcomed back for a threepeat in 2012. —LB

2012: Best So-Called Make-Good

Collecting her second Best Actress in a Drama Series trophy, Homeland star Claire Danes wasted no time making up for two very important omissions from her first speech. According to Danes, after she delivered her acceptance speech for her role in My So-Called Life 17 years earlier, she burst into tears because she realized she'd forgotten to thank her parents. ''I'm just so lucky to have another opportunity to let them know how deeply grateful I am for their love and encouragement,'' she said, ''and any fulfillment I have as a person and actor I owe in large part to [them].'' —LB

2013: Rookies of the Year

From their opening monologue to their closing words, cohosts Amy Poehler and Tina Fey nailed their first turn emceeing Hollywood's booziest night (and earned two more bookings through 2015). One moment of genius? When Amy snarked about Kathryn Bigelow, Best Director nominee for Zero Dark Thirty, ''When it comes to torture, I trust the lady who spent three years married to James Cameron.'' Another? When Tina zinged eventual Best Supporting Actress, Musical or Comedy, winner Anne Hathaway for her performance: ''I have not seen someone so totally alone and abandoned like that since you were on stage with James Franco at the Oscars.'' From Meryl Streep to Taylor Swift, no one was safe — not even the Globes themselves. They staged a running gag in which they donned funny teeth and comedy mustaches to bomb the notoriously forgettable Miniseries/TV Movie categories as nominees from the absurd (and need we say fictional?) project Dog President. Masterful, yet not mean. Well-played, ladies. —LB

2014: Wildest Speech

When Jacqueline Bisset won for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Miniseries, or TV Movie in 2014 for her role in the British series Dancing on the Edge, she gave quite an interesting speech. She began very emotional, looking shocked while thanking the Hollywood Foreign Press Association in an odd way. She shouted random thoughts, and after a "sh--" slipped through, part of her speech was censored by NBC. The play-off music started and stopped and then started again. It was all very confusing, but cemented her name in history books for the wildest speech yet. —Sydney Bucksbaum

2015: Most Memed Moment

When Chrissy Teigen's husband John Legend won for Best Song with Common in 2015, she made this face as he received the honor from presenter Prince. Was she happy? Celebrating? Had too much champagne? Who knows, but the moment will be forever remembered by the internet. "It's been 5 minutes and I'm a meme," she tweeted. —SB

2015: Best Burn

Tina Fey promised to go after Bill Cosby during the Golden Globes ceremony in 2015, and she didn't let us down. Together with her cohost Amy Poehler, the duo brutally roasted Cosby, who's accused of drugging and sexually assaulting more than 20 women. Their Cosby impressions paired with their jokes were some of their best zingers of the night. —SB

2016: Most Bleeped Moment

Were the 2016 Globes the most bleeped ceremony in TV history? One line from host Ricky Gervais to presenter Mel Gibson was entirely muted, leading many to wonder what was so inappropriate that it led to about 10 seconds of silence. After Gibson threatened to put Gervais "to sleep another way," Gervais asked him, "Listen, can I ask you a question?" And then this was entirely bleeped by NBC: "What the f--- does 'sugar t-ts' even mean?'" —SB

2017: Best Politically-Charged Speech

When Meryl Streep accepted the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the 2017 Golden Globes ceremony, she used her speech to call out then President-elect Donald Trump, without mentioning him by name, referencing when he mocked New York Times reporter Serge Kovaleski for his disability during a rally in 2015. "There was one performance this year that stunned me — it sank its hooks in my heart. Not because it was good, there was nothing good about it. But it was effective and it did its job. It made its intended audience laugh and show their teeth," she said. "It was the moment where the person asking to sit in the most respected seat in our country imitated a disabled reporter. Someone he outranked in privilege, power, and the capacity to fight back. It kind of broke my heart when I saw it and I still can't get it out of head because it wasn't a movie, it was real life." —SB

2018: Most Sadly Relevant One-Liner

Natalie Portman and Ron Howard presented the Golden Globe for Best Director mere seconds after Oprah Winfrey's extraordinary speech about the #MeToo movement at the 2018 Golden Globes, and Portman rightly called out the irony of how the lineup of nominees were all men. "And here are the all-male nominees," Portman said in a moment that's been GIFed too many times to count. —SB

2018: Most Socially-Responsible Fashion Statement

Normally awards show red carpets are full of colorful dresses and suits. But the 2018 Golden Globes red carpet eschewed colors and instead men and women wore black to protest sexual harassment and sexual misconduct in Hollywood. The socially-responsible fashion statement supported Time's Up, "a unified call for change from women in entertainment for women everywhere. From movie sets to farm fields to boardrooms alike, we envision nationwide leadership that reflects the world in which we live." —SB

2019: Newest Record Holder

When Sandra Oh won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a TV Drama for headlining Killing Eve on BBC America, she made history. Because this was Oh's second Globe win overall, it makes her the first Asian performer to win multiple Golden Globes (in 2006, she won her first for her role of Cristina Yang on Grey's Anatomy). It was the perfect way to end the night that began with Oh and her cohost Andy Samberg's opening monologue that praised Crazy Rich Asians with Oh joking that it is "the first studio film with an Asian American lead since Ghost in the Shell and Aloha." "I'm sorry!" Aloha star Emma Stone was caught yelling on the broadcast. —SB

2019: Most Health-Conscious Program

Those who came to the Golden Globes in 2019 expected a night of entertainment, but they also ended up leaving with an improved immune system as well. Hosts Sandra Oh and Andy Samberg paused the glamorous awards ceremony to pass out flu shots to anyone in the audience who wanted one. "So roll up your sleeves, Hollywood, because you're all getting flu shots," Oh said as a large group of people wearing white lab coats and holding syringes appeared on stage. Appropriately, LMFAO's "Shots" played as the "nurses" walked through the scared-looking crowd. —SB

2020: Fastest Beep

Having Ricky Gervais as host always makes for an interesting and shocking monologue, and his latest kickoff speech pulled no punches. He called out the plethora of streaming services and the talent representing each one as nominees for the night. "You say you're woke, but the companies you work for — I mean, unbelievable. Apple, Amazon, Disney," Gervais said. "If ISIS started a streaming service, you'd call your agent. Wouldn't you? So if you do win an award tonight, don't use it as a platform to make a political speech. You're in no position to lecture the public about anything. You know nothing about the real world. Most of you spent less time in school than Greta Thunberg. So, if you win, come up, accept your little award, thank your agent and your god, and f--- off." —SB

2020: Thanks, Obama

As Phoebe Waller-Bridge accepted the Globe for Best Television Series — Musical or Comedy for Fleabag, the creator and star name-dropped the most famous fan of the series. "Personally, I'd like to also thank Obama for putting us on his list," she said, referring to the former POTUS' list of 2019 pop culture favorites before referencing a moment where her onscreen alter ego, ahem, pleasures herself to a video of Obama giving a speech. "As some of you may know, he's always been on mine." —SB

2020: Debate Champion

Brad Pitt wanted everyone to know where he stood on the matter of if Rose (Kate Winslet) could have shared the raft with Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio) on Titanic, so he used his acceptance speech for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in Any Motion Picture for his performance in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood to reveal his opinion about his costar. "He's an all-star. He's a gent," Pitt said. "Still... I would've shared the raft." —SB