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The Golden Globes were Sunday night. I loved the fashion this year (Natalie Portman’s dress was my fav), but like many of you, I thought the host was terrible and a lot of the presenter skits fell flat. I try to be nice, though, and have a general rule to not blame the presenter for bad material if they’re really trying to sell it. Show me your metaphorical spirit fingers while awkwardly reading a bad script off a teleprompter and I’ll give you a pass and maybe a pity chuckle. America Ferrera really tried to make what could have been one of the better skits of the night happen, but was dragged down by her co-presenter Kevin Costner. The premise was Kevin acknowledging and paying tribute to America’s famous speech in Barbie about it being impossible to be a woman while America pretended to be flattered at the recognition.
Kevin Costner stepped one foot into Barbie land on Sunday night. While presenting the Golden Globe award for best actress in a musical or comedy series during the 81st annual awards ceremony, he spoke with America Ferrera about the importance of Barbie’s empowering moments — and even recited a bit of her now-iconic monologue.
It started when Ferrera, 39, pointed to Costner’s role in The Bodyguard. “When you say, ‘Goodbye, Rachel.’ And then she leaves and then you run to each other and then… chills,” Ferrera said.
Then, Costner, 68, surprised Ferrera — and the audience — with a word-for-word recreation of that Barbie moment. “You know, you have a scene that I really love. I think a lot of people really love that scene,” he said before going into the monologue.
“You know, ‘It’s literally impossible to be a woman.’ You know that, ‘You’re so beautiful. You’re so smart and kills me that you don’t think you’re good enough.’ That was pretty good,” the actor continued.
A stunned Ferrera replied, “Did you, Kevin Costner, memorize my monologue about womanhood from Barbie?”
The Yellowstone actor then simply deadpanned, “No.”
“But it’s an important message, and it always serves to remind me what’s possible in films. It just reminds me that when we take our time, when we manage to get it right, when film is working at its very best, it can be about moments you never ever forget,” Costner explained.
He continued, “A look, a touch, a kiss, a speech, and you just had one of those moments. And all the actors nominated tonight know so well the power of writing that they’ve been gifted with and that they have the chance to live forever.”
Ferrera ended the bit on one last chuckle. “Wow. So you’re not going to do the rest of my monologue right now on national television?” she asked.
I don’t know if Costner is just really dry in real life or if he had just found out he was presenting 15 minutes before they went on and wasn’t briefed on the material, but he just seemed so uncomfortable up there. Was he stoned? Did he feel silly having to recite a few lines from “girl’s” monologue? He loosened up as it went on, but you could just see America’s jazz hands waving as she tried to bring his energy level up. Maybe I’m being too harsh, but this could have been a really memorable moment for this year’s Globes. They should have gotten Harrison Ford to do it in character as Dr. Paul Rhoades in one of my favorite shows from last year, Shrinking. I think Ford and Ferrera would have been a really fun duo reciting that bit. Also, I thought America looked great and you can count me among those who loved Margot Robbie’s Superstar Barbie look. It’s a shame Barbie didn’t win more awards and instead was the punchline of some pretty misogynist jokes.
Presenting the award for Best Television Female Actor – Musical/Comedy Series it's 🎀 Barbie monologue experts 🎀 @AmericaFerrera and Kevin Costner! #GoldenGlobes pic.twitter.com/mweWl9OZJt
— Golden Globe Awards (@goldenglobes) January 8, 2024
photos credit Getty and Xavier Collin / Image Press Agency / Avalon
True it was a tired night. Just scrapping through with a few fun moments…yet having a host that I found excruciatingly weird, sexist and cringe! You wouldn’t believe how many comedians and hosts are defending him today while blasting the crowd as too ‘cold’ and that Taylor especially was in the wrong & couldn’t roll with a joke!
I don’t know what show they were watching but Jo Koy sucked the fun out of the night with a noxious blend of nervous ego and aggression! A least the dressing was pretty!
Apparently most of his comedy is about his family and in that lane, he’s good. I took the comedian defenses of him as more about helping him get over this as it was actually dumping on the audience or Swift. He just clearly didn’t have the experience working this sort of room. For instance, getting Taylor’s attention and then doing the bit and having a way out if it didn’t go well. I must say it was the first time I’ve seen Taylor act like a pill at an awards show. She’s usually the most enthusiastic, cheering for everyone. Maybe the booze and not being in the front row?
“act like a pill”? What is that supposed to mean? She didn’t laugh at a bad joke made at her expense, sue her. She was a literal nominee who had every right to be there. Not her fault this guy isn’t funny.
Don’t know if you’ve heard but women don’t have to laugh at jokes that aren’t funny anymore – especially when those jokes are sexist and at their expense.
There is a clip of Trevor Noah hosting an award show and he complimened Taylor on his favorite song Anti-Hero. Since his Auntie is his hero and to all the Aunties out there. She whooped with laughter.
You can be funny and not be sexist. It’s possible. All Jo did was reduce her to who her man is. Not that she was a nominee and basically helped the economy touring (along with Beyonce). But it’s been more fun going on X/Twitter and reading all the people who have been punching up the jokes and what would have been better jokes instead. Even here our sharp commentors were giving better one liners than Jo.
I took the joke towards Taylor Swift as actually being a joke about the NFL’s breathless and thirsty coverage of her, but, in all honesty, it’s a tired joke. It wasn’t offensive, but it wasn’t terribly funny. What IS offensive is this idea that women owe anyone their laughter and their “playing along”. I’m not a Taylor stan, but she didn’t even really DO anything. She didn’t pull a face; she didn’t smile; she just did not engage. And now that’s a high crime to comedians.
Yep – Ryan Gosling had literally the same reaction to a joke about him and nobody is saying a word. Interesting.
she’s become the brunt of negative online coverage because she didn’t smile – it’s like the adage like a man is scared of woman not laughing at their joke – now she’s the bitch problem! Ryan Gosling is allowed to not engage.
I watched clips of his specials and it’s a little tiring using the Filipino accent about his mother but at least it seemed warm in intent.
Like Costner, more dudes given time yet are underprepared and uncaring about representation and timing!
It was awkward. I felt like they didn’t give him his lines until 5 minutes before he went out there. But, there were a lot of awkward-verging-on-stupid presentation moments like that. It just added to the overall awkwardness of the show.
Ugh, it’s excruciating to watch this. ‘Dry’ is not the word that comes to mind when describing Costner’s delivery. ‘Confused’, maybe? ‘Blankly staring at the telepromter, reading what it says without understanding it, and hoping this will all be over soon?’
It’s pretty clear he has not seen Barbie and does not care about the film. Which is fine, but then don’t participate in a sketch bit about it, you know?
Costner is not exactly known as a feminist nor an ally so I think we can chalk that up to “awkward older conservative white dude who just screwed his wife and mother of his children out of millions to make a vanity movie no one will watch is forced to pretend to respect a Feminist 101 dialogue.” You can throw in “and I’m not even getting paid to act like I care, so forget it.”
LOL, exactly this!
10000% exactly this.
He’s not a feminist. He’s an old white male conservative with a past of controlling / abusing women. Just look at his divorce. It’s shameful.
He doesn’t believe in the message so he didn’t care about the delivery. He’s such a poop, for real.
Yeah exactly this. <3 America but this was a bad pairing
OMG RIGHT?!? Who on earth thought it would be funny for a known misogynist and abusive piece of crap to get up there with America and recite the powerful words from her Barbie speech.
This was so disrespectful to America. It really seems like some incel writer was all “haha, we’re going to take America and Barbie and that speech down a peg.”
Is he conservative? I thought he was a Democrat. I know he supported Liz Cheney in her primary, but I thought it was just because she was going so hard at Trump for the insurrection.
Don’t doubt that he’s not a feminist though. He seems to have been a terrible husband and his wife got a raw deal.
Costner is no surprise. What I don’t get is People magazine acting like he just did this off the cuff like it wasn’t scripted. Yeah, he came out for the presentation and randomly began reciting America’s monologue from Barbie because he had obviously taken the time and trouble to memorize a feminist text. Sure, Jan. 😏
(America is such a treasure.)
What in the world did Kevin do to his handsome face… Why,why did he do that?
I was wondering about the hair… yeesh!
Can I go back to my clueless days when I thought all male movie stars were hot and didn’t know about their dickish personalities?
Kevin looks terrible. What has he had done?
His face looks 15 years older, and why is his hair peach colored?
Divorce has been rough on Kevin, he HATES it when he loses his fam, erh I mean money.
Just now paid attention to Kevin Costner photo. What happened? Man, he looks rough. Did the divorce hit that hard or are we looking at substance abuse? Covid?
America Ferrara is a goddess, and that dress on her is stunning!!! Just gorgeous.
Too bad she was paired with KC for this bit… was such a disservice to her and to the Barbie movie’s most powerful, poignant monologue.