NICOLE’S GOLD
THE biggest female stars in Hollywood have taken a historic stand against sexual harassment and inequality at the Golden Globes, where Nicole Kidman’s Big Little Lies fittingly emerged as one of the night’s big winners.
And as the Golden Globes went black to shine a bright light on abuse, Kidman won for her portrayal of a domestic abuse survivor and made an emotional acceptance speech honouring her mother.
Wearing a black dress, Kidman received the first gong of a politically charged ceremony for Best Performance by an Actress in a Limited Series. Overall the Foxtel series won four awards, with Laura Dern and Alexander Skarsgard winning for Best Supporting Actress and Actor respectively. It also won Best Limited Series.
The Australian superstar praised co-stars Reese Witherspoon, Shailene Woodley, Dern and Zoe Kravitz, adding, “I do believe and I hope we can elicit change through the stories we tell and the way we tell them. Let’s keep the conversation alive.”
Kidman also singled out her mother Janelle for being a champion of the women’s right’s movement. “My mumma was an advocate for the women’s movement when I was growing up and because of her I’m standing here,” Kidman said. “My achievements are her achievements and Antonia Kidman, my sister and I say thank you.”
A sea of black swamped the usually vibrant Globes red carpet and then entered the Beverly Hilton ballroom, with Kidman and other invitees wearing black gowns and suits to support Time’s Up. The campaign is designed to support all women and men silenced by abuse, harassment and discrimination not only in Hollywood but across the world.
The Golden Globes was the first awards ceremony since the scandals surrounding disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey, among others, were dragged into the limelight. “The time is up,” Oprah Winfrey proclaimed during a rousing speech to accept the Cecil B. DeMille Award for outstanding contributions to entertainment. “A new day is on the horizon.”
She became the first African-American woman to receive the gong and said sexual harassment “transcends any culture, geography, race, religion, politics or workplace”. “So I want tonight to express gratitude to all the women who have endured years of abuse and assault because they, like my mother, had children to feed and bills to pay and dreams to pursue. They’re the women whose names we’ll never know,” Winfrey said.
The list of winners recognised feminist movies and TV shows, with Big Little Lies, The Handmaid’s Tale, Lady Bird and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri all winning big. “( Big Little Lies) is so much about the life we present to the world that can be very different than the life behind closed doors, so I want to thank everyone who broke their silence this year and spoke up about abuse and harassment. You are so brave,” Witherspoon said.
The issue wasn’t only addressed by the winners. Presenting the Best Director award, Natalie Portman called out the lack of female directors being acknowledged, cuttingly saying, “Here are the all-male nominees.”