The Golden Globes came and went, but did anyone notice? The awards, put on by the Hollywood Foreign Press, have suffered from apathy and low ratings in recent years to the point it wasn’t even televised in 2022. The reasons are as diverse as Joe Biden’s cabinet. Viewers, many struggling from Biden’s failed economic policies, didn’t want to see the rich Hollywood elite pat themselves on their collective backs.
Also factoring in the low ratings is the decline of network television. Many folks don’t bother with over-the-air broadcasts in deference to binging their favorite programs; some weren’t even aware that the broadcast was on. Americans have also grown weary of sanctimonious celebrities giving self-important political speeches when, in fact, they have no idea how everyday Americans live.
Another major factor that apparently the Foreign Press overlooks is it just isn’t entertaining. The jokes are stale, the speeches are boring, and many of the actors and films honored aren’t well-known, all of which lend themselves to viewer apathy and low ratings. That hasn’t always been the case, however.
In 2020, perhaps recognizing that viewership was waning, the awards tabbed Ricky Gervais as the host. Gervais is the creator of “The Office” and one of the funniest, most controversial comedians in the world. The reasons that he is considered controversial are more due to the hard-left shift in America than his actual style of comedy, but he is one of the few who refused to bend the knee to wokeism and refused to be canceled.
After the famous 2020 broadcast, which featured Gervais roasting Hollywood and many of the elites by name, the program pivoted away from any controversy, and the results have been disastrous. Gervais famously scorched Hollywood with a reference to Jeffrey Epstein. He said: “No one cares about movies anymore. No one goes to cinema, no one really watches network TV. Everyone is watching Netflix … You could binge-watch the entire first season of ‘Afterlife’ instead of watching this show. That’s a show about a man who wants to kill himself ’cause his wife dies of cancer and it’s still more fun than this. Spoiler alert, season two is on the way so in the end he obviously didn’t kill himself. Just like Jeffrey Epstein. Shut up. I know he’s your friend, but I don’t care.”
While fans found it hilarious, the uncomfortable silence at the event ensured that Gervais wouldn’t get another chance to make the program interesting. Fast forward to 2024, and the comedian found himself on the receiving end of the first-ever Best Performance in Stand-Up Comedy on Television award. Predictably, Gervais wasn’t there, but comedian Jim Gaffigan took a page from his book when he presented the award. Gaffigan joked: “This is so exciting for me. The Golden Globes – I can’t even believe I’m in the entertainment industry. I can’t. You know, it’s so unlikely. I’m from a small town in Indiana. I’m not a pedophile. I don’t know if that’s a new category here, but …”
It was a rare, funny moment during a night of decidedly few laughs. New host Jo Koy, a comedian himself, fell flat on most of his jokes, and critical response has been as dismal as the ratings. It isn’t Koy’s fault, as he is a wildly popular comedian. However, he was hamstrung by just ten days to prepare and the need to keep the jokes vanilla so as not to offend the liberal elite.
What we have now is a far cry from the award show heyday of the 70s and 80s. People used to tune in to see their favorite celebrities tell jokes, give speeches, and pal around. What we have now are political speeches, entitled celebrities preaching about social justice and climate change, and awards going to films no one sees or cares about. When you remove Ricky Gervais and replace him with a neutered Jo Koy, you get what we saw or didn’t see during this year’s failed broadcast.
