Highlights from the Golden Globes 2025

January 12, 2025

Demi Moore and Zoe Saldana gave terrific, memorable acceptance speeches as Emilia Pérez and Shogun won top prizes in film and television categories.

Highlights from the Golden Globes 2025


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he Golden Globes 2025 were an interesting affair. The nominations were packed with so many thrilling performances that it should’ve been a nail-biting event. However, because of predictable wins in the television categories and the comedy or musical nominations overall, it was a slightly bewildering night.

But what elevated the Golden Globes were the acceptance speeches, the red carpet, and the hosting gig that went to Nikki Glaser. More than anything else, one thing became obvious, Babygirl star Nicole Kidman, Maria star Angelina Jolie and Lee star Kate Winslet have one major competitor this year, and it’s a woman who has never won an award prior to this year—Demi Moore.

It was absolutely great to see Ghost star, Demi Moore, who delivered good films in the ‘80s and ‘90s, in a triumphant moment with The Substance, a film that has been acknowledged across the board in Hollywood and by Hollywood. With an original screenplay, The Substance is perhaps the most important film to emerge in recent years because, while entertaining, it also addresses issues such as the bizarre beauty standard that a person has to live up to, where criticism of others and self-criticism is toxic and almost violent because of what we can do to achieve those absurd standards. What was most infuriating, though, was that while Moore did win Best Actress, she didn’t win in a dramatic category. Instead, (and like every year), her performance (and many others in the past) were lumped into the musical and/or comedy category. The Substance is not a comedy and not a satirical piece. It is a drama and horror film. But what mattered, perhaps most, is that it finally led to Demi Moore winning her first award, and she blew everyone (including us) away with her emotional, powerful speech. Kids, you must see it in its entirety and not as an Instagram reel.

“I’m just in shock right now,” Moore began, “I’ve been doing this a long time, like over 45 years, and this is the first time I’ve ever won anything as an actor, and I’m just so humbled and so grateful.” She went on, “Thirty years ago, I had a producer tell me that I was a ‘popcorn actress.’ And at that time, I made that to mean that this wasn’t something that I was allowed to have. That I could do movies that were successful, that made a lot of money, but that I couldn’t be acknowledged. And I bought in[to] it, and I believed that.

And that corroded me over time to the point where I thought a few years ago that maybe this was it.” Moore, 62, continued, “Maybe I was complete. Maybe I’ve done what I was supposed to do. And as I was at kind of a low point, I had this magical, bold, courageous, out-of-the-box, absolutely bonkers script come across my desk called The Substance, and the universe told me that you’re not done. And I’ll just leave you with one thing that I think this movie is imparting. In those moments when we don’t think we’re smart enough, we’re pretty enough, we’re skinny enough, we’re successful enough, or basically just not enough. I had a woman say to me, ‘Just know you will never be enough, but you can know the value of your worth if you just put down the measuring stick.’ And so today, I celebrate this as a marker of my wholeness and of the love that is driving me and for the gift of doing something I love and being reminded that I do belong. Thank you so much.”

If you haven’t seen the Golden Globes and have no plans to do so, just find this speech and watch it for yourself. Absolutely incredible and easily one of the best moments of the night.

Apart from a roaring applause, award presenter Kerry Washington rightly said, “Good luck to the next person,” meaning anyone who had to follow Demi Moore’s victory speech.

Another favorite moment arrived with the victory of Zoe Saldana, a woman who has been a part of franchise films including Guardians of the Galaxy and Avatar, and yet, pulled off a marvelous performance in Emilia Pérez, for which she learned Mexican and showed us just how versatile she is as an actress. Winning Best Supporting Actress, this was her first award, and she, a little like Demi Moore, also gave a wonderful speech (which ran over time).

Said Zoe Saldana: “Oh my God. I know I don’t have much time, and I have dyslexia, so I tend to forget when I’m really anxious, and I’m filled with adrenaline, but my heart is full of gratitude. Thank you so much to the Golden Globes for celebrating our film and honoring the women of Emilia Pérez. Thank you so much.

“This is a first time for me, and I’m just so blessed that I’m sharing this moment with
Selena [Gomez] and Karla [Sofía Gascón] and Jacques [Audiard] and all of my fellow nominees. I’m in awe of you, your strength, your complexity, your undeniable talent. I know that it is a competition, but all that I have witnessed is just us showing up for each other and celebrating each other, and it’s just so beautiful.

Highlights from the Golden Globes 2025

So Selena [Gomez], Ariana [Grande], Margaret [Qualley], Felicity [Jones], Isabella [Rossellini]—I had lunch one time in your house and it was like, I thought I had made it already, but—you’re magic. You’re all magic, and I experienced this kind of magic on the set of Emilia Pérez and it’s thanks to you. Thank you, merci beaucoup, Jacques Audiard. Thank you so much for trusting me to play Rita. You created rich and complex characters, and you’re so French and so chic and confident and kind! I love it!
My Emilia Pérez cast and crew...thank you so much...And Karla, no one other than you could have played Emilia Pérez. No one. Eres única. Eres única... My family, my mom is here, my sisters, my husband, and my sons. I love you, I love you. You guys are everything. Thank you!”

Among other highlights, the host of the night, Nikki Glaser mashed up Wicked and Conclave for a song spoof, and if that doesn’t sound funny, watch this woman own a stage that is usually (not always) reserved for a male comedian. Glaser really owned it when she said to a room full of Hollywood A-listers, “I am not here to roast you tonight. I want you to know that. And how could I, really? You’re all so famous, so talented, so powerful. I mean, you could really do anything, except tell the country who to vote for,”
she said, referencing Trump’s reelection. “But it’s OK,” she added, “you’ll get ‘em next time if there is one.”

For further highlights, you really have to watch this year’s Golden Globes acceptance speeches and well, just that. And if you haven’t gotten our drift, read: Demi Moore.

Golden Globes 2025: The complete list of winners and nominees for film

Motion picture (drama) - The Brutalist

A Complete Unknown

Conclave

Dune: Part Two

Nickel Boys

September 5

Motion picture (comedy or musical) - Emilia Perez

Anora

Challengers

A Real Pain

The Substance

Wicked

Actor (drama) - Adrien Brody, for The Brutalist

Timothee Chalamet - A Complete Unknown

Daniel Craig - Queer

Colman Domingo - Sing Sing

Ralph Fiennes - Conclave

Sebastian Stan - The Apprentice

Actor (comedy or musical) - Sebastian Stan, for A Different Man

Jesse Eisenberg - A Real Pain

Hugh Grant - Heretic

Gabriel LaBelle - Saturday Night

Jesse Plemons - Kinds of Kindness

Glen Powell - Hit Man

Actress (drama) - Fernanda Torres, for I’m Still Here

Pamela Anderson - The Last Showgirl

Angelina Jolie - Maria

Nicole Kidman - Babygirl

Tilda Swinton - The Room Next Door

Kate Winslet – Lee

Actress (comedy or musical) - Demi Moore, for The Substance

Amy Adams - Nightbitch

Cynthia Erivo - Wicked

Karla Sofía Gascon - Emilia Perez

Mikey Madison - Anora

Zendaya - Challengers

Supporting actor - Kieran Culkin, for A Real Pain

Yura Borisov - Anora

Edward Norton - A Complete Unknown

Guy Pearce - The Brutalist

Jeremy Strong - The Apprentice

Denzel Washington - Gladiator II

Supporting actress - Zoe Saldana, for Emilia Perez

Selena Gomez - Emilia Perez

Ariana Grande - Wicked

Felicity Jones - The Brutalist

Margaret Qualley - The Substance

Isabella Rossellini - Conclave

Director - Brady Corbet, for The Brutalist

Jacques Audiard - Emilia Perez

Sean Baker - Anora

Edward Berger - Conclave

Coralie Fargeat - The Substance

Payal Kapadia - All We Imagine As Light

Screenplay - Peter Straughan, for Conclave

Jacques Audiard - Emilia Perez

Sean Baker - Anora

Brady Corbet and Mona Fastvold - The Brutalist

Jesse Eisenberg - A Real Pain

Coralie Fargeat - The Substance

Score - Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, for Challengers

Volker Bertelmann - Conclave

Daniel Blumberg - The Brutalist

Kris Bowers - The Wild Robot

Clement Ducol, Camille - Emilia Perez

Hans Zimmer - Dune: Part Two

Song – ‘El Mal’, from Emilia Perez

‘Beautiful That Way’ from The Last Showgirl

‘Compress/Repress’ from Challengers

‘Forbidden Road’ from Better Man

‘Kiss The Sky’ from The Wild Robot

‘Mi Camino’ from Emilia Perez

Animated feature - Flow

Inside Out 2

Memoir Of A Snail

Moana 2

Wallace And Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl

The Wild Robot

Non-English language film - Emilia Perez

All We Imagine As Light

The Girl With The Needle

I’m Still Here

The Seed Of The Sacred Fig

Vermiglio

Cinematic box office achievement - Wicked

Alien: Romulus

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

Deadpool & Wolverine

Gladiator II

Inside Out 2

Twisters

The Wild Robot

Golden Globes 2025: The complete list of winners and nominees for television

TV series (drama) - Shogun

The Day Of The Jackal

The Diplomat

Mr And Mrs Smith

Slow Horses

Squid Game

TV series (comedy or musical) - Hacks

Abbott Elementary

The Bear

The Gentlemen

Nobody Wants This

Only Murders In The Building

TV series (limited or TV movie) - Baby Reindeer

Disclaimer

Monsters: The Lyle And Erik Menendez Story

The Penguin

Ripley

True Detective: Night Country

TV actor (drama) - Hiroyuki Sanada, for Shogun

Donald Glover - Mr And Mrs Smith

Jake Gyllenhaal - Presumed Innocent

Gary Oldman - Slow Horses

Eddie Redmayne - The Day Of The Jackal

Billy Bob Thornton - Landman

TV actor (comedy) - Jeremy Allen White, for The Bear

Adam Brody - Nobody Wants This

Ted Danson - A Man On The Inside

Steve Martin - Only Murders In The Building

Jason Segel - Shrinking

Martin Short - Only Murders In The Building

TV actor (limited series or TV movie) - Colin Farrell, for The Penguin

Richard Gadd - Baby Reindeer

Kevin Kline - Disclaimer

Cooper Koch - Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story

Ewan McGregor - A Gentleman In Moscow

Andrew Scott - Ripley

TV actress (drama) - Anna Sawai, for Shogun

Kathy Bates - Matlock

Emma D’Arcy - House Of The Dragon

Maya Erskine - Mr And Mrs Smith

Keira Knightley - Black Doves

Keri Russell - The Diplomat

TV actress (comedy) - Jean Smart, for Hacks

Kristen Bell - Nobody Wants This

Quinta Brunson - Abbott Elementary

Ayo Edebiri - The Bear

Selena Gomez - Only Murders In The Building

Kathryn Hahn - Agatha All Along

TV actress (limited series or TV movie) - Jodie Foster, for True Detective: Night Country

Cate Blanchett - Disclaimer

Cristin Milioti - The Penguin

Sofía Vergara - Griselda

Naomi Watts - Feud: Capote Vs The Swans

Kate Winslet - The Regime

Supporting actor - Tadanobu Asano, for Shogun

Javier Bardem - Monsters: The Lyle And Erik Menendez Story

Harrison Ford - Shrinking

Jack Lowden - Slow Horses

Diego Luna - La Maquina

Ebon Moss-Bachrach - The Bear

Supporting actress - Jessica Gunning, for Baby Reindeer

Liza Colon-Zayas - The Bear

Hannah Einbinder - Hacks

Dakota Fanning - Ripley

Allison Janney - The Diplomat

Kali Reis - True Detective: Night Country

Stand-up comedy performance - Ali Wong, for Single Lady

Jamie Foxx - What Had Happened Was

Nikki Glaser - Someday You’ll Die

Seth Meyers - Dad Man Walking

Adam Sandler - Love You

Ramy Youssef - More Feelings


Highlights from the Golden Globes 2025