It must be noted: This was an odd year for the Golden Globes.
After the Hollywood Foreign Press Association came under fire for failing to have even one Black Golden Globes voter on its roster, NBC decided not to air a ceremony, citing the need for “meaningful reform.” Instead, the awards were doled out via social media announcements on January 9. No televised ceremony, no livestream.
Which means you may have missed the news that history was made. In addition to Jane Campion becoming the third woman to ever win a Golden Globe for Best Director, there was a victory well worth celebrating, despite ongoing problems with the HFPA: the first-ever acting award ever conferred unto a transgender actress.
Mj Rodriguez scored that prize, in honor of her critically celebrated performance as Blanca on the hit FX drama “Pose.” And she seemingly felt the magnitude of the moment while taking to Instagram Live to deliver an acceptance speech. (A portion can be seen in the video above.)
“This is for the LGBTQAI, Black, Latina, Asian, the many multi-beautiful colors of the rainbow around the freakin’ world,” she said while broadcasting on the app. “This is not just for me. This is for y’all. This is the door that opens for y’all.”
She added, “There are going to be so many young individuals – young, talented, thriving individuals – that are going to be able to … storm in through the door.”
Rodriguez also posted about the historic win on her Instagram account, noting that now, the world “will see that it is more than possible. They will see … a young Black Latina girl from Newark, New Jersey who had a dream to change the minds others would WITH LOVE.”
She made awards history in 2021 as well, by being the first transgender woman to ever score a lead-actress Emmy nomination – also for her “Pose” performance.
(Featured Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons)