Jimmy Fallon, the host of the 2017 Golden Globes, has made a career of creating pithy viral moments that transcend television and resonate on the internet, but at this year’s ceremony the host was outdone by a bizarre recurring slip-up.
Golden Globes pre-show host Jenna Bush Hager was interviewing Pharrell Williams, who worked on the music for space-race drama Hidden Figures, when she mistakenly called the film Hidden Fences, conflating Hidden Figures with Fences, the August Wilson adaptation starring Denzel Washington and Viola Davis.
I'mma let you finish, but #HiddenFences was the best film of the year! #GoldenGlobes pic.twitter.com/pl7jRrBjP4
— jesse Williams. (@iJesseWilliams) January 9, 2017
The confusion of two very different films, which both have predominant African American casts, was seen by some as a sign of how the industry can dismiss black actors and directors.
#HiddenFences?
— EBONY MAGAZINE (@EBONYMag) January 9, 2017
Hey, we don't all look a like. Put some respect on our movies. #GoldenGlobes pic.twitter.com/oLRiMo5500
Michael Keaton then made the same mistake when he was introducing the best supporting actress in a motion picture, drama, category, which included Octavia Spencer – one of the stars of Hidden Figures. The repeated slips came on an evening when a diverse range of actors won awards.
RT mashentertain: It's "Hidden Figures," Michael Keaton. #GoldenGlobes pic.twitter.com/1KYrxnY8UU
— Tsai Rox (@tsairox) January 9, 2017
Wait... #HiddenFences ...again?
— Gabrielle Union (@itsgabrielleu) January 9, 2017
You know who stars in #HiddenFences... Garcelle Ashanti Brandy Sanaa Bring It On Union 😑
— Gabrielle Union (@itsgabrielleu) January 9, 2017
Earlier in the evening, Tracee Ellis Ross became the first black woman to win lead TV comedic actress at the Golden Globes since 1983, and in her acceptance speech addressed young women of color: “This is for all of the women of color whose stories, ideas, thoughts are not always considered worthy or important but I see you and we see you.”
Meanwhile Donald Glover’s Atlanta, an off-beat show about a group of wannabe rappers in the city, won in the best TV series, comedy, category.
