The most healing moments from the Golden Globes

January 06, 2019 at 05:37PM

Okay, fill in the blank in this sentence: “The Golden Globes are known for being ____.”

You may have said “boozy.” That’s correct. Or “hilarious”—especially if you were thinking of the years when Tina Fey and Amy Poehler hosted. One thing I’ll bet you didn’t say: “healing.”

But tonight, amid the annual red carpet hoopla, the publicist-approved anecdotes, and the “oh God, they’re talking about me in the monologue” tension in the audience, there were some moments that just sang. They were filled with beauty, heart, and in at least one case: (very loud) contrition.

So, here are the nominees…for most healing moments from the 2019 Golden Globes.

golden globes healing moments — Taraji P. Henson and Carol Burnett. Photo: Getty Images/Michael Kovac/Moet & Chandon

When Carol Burnett made it rain (eyeball edition)

You know you’re a badass when you get a lifetime achievement award—and it’s also named for you. A lot of people will receive the Carol Burnett Lifetime Achievement Award in the future, but there’s only one Carol Burnett. At 85, the TV comedy goddess showed she’s still got it—and can still hit you in the heart (and the tear ducts) when she says, “I’m so glad we had this time together.”

When (another) star was born

Congrats, Fiji water girl. You’re officially internet famous.

When Emma Stone had an Aloha outburst

It was the “I’m sorry!” heard round the world. (Twitter world, that is.) In the opening monologue Sandra Oh had a little fun with the fact that Stone played an Asian woman in the 2015 film Aloha—a casting choice that will live in whitewashing infamy. Oh pointed out that Crazy Rich Asians “is the first studio film with an Asian-American lead since Ghost in the Shell and Aloha,” getting some chuckles from the crowd, when suddenly someone shouted “I’M SORRY” from the crowd. Twitter went crazy: Was it Stone? Yep. Was everything healed? Not likely. But since Hollywood isn’t exactly the best at admitting to problems (Harvey Weinstein, anyone?), a little bit of honesty can’t be a bad thing.

When Sandra Oh’s parents made us all swoon

Ohhhhh, the Ohs. Their reaction to their daughter’s award win for her role in Killing Eve was basically what you dream of when you fantasize about parental applause. (Everybody does that, right?) Comedian Michelle Collins put it best when she tweeted, “Sandra Oh’s parents have already made 2019 better than 2018.”