It’s award season ya’ll! You know what that means… more dresses, more celebrities and either great, or embarrassing, funny moments. Throughout award history, Hollywood has not let us down in its times of inspiration and its times of funny WTF moments. Can’t remember any of these iconic times, or are only a few coming to mind? Well, you’ve come to the right place. Let’s reminisce on some of the best memorable moments with a top 10 countdown of TV and movie award history.
10. Amy Schumer at the 2015 British Academy Britannia Academy Awards
Schumer was a receiver of the Charlie Chaplin Britannia Award and during her speech she visually described her disgust in men and it had everyone laughing! She compared what men really think about when they see women compared to what women really care about when presenting themselves to men, calling it disgusting.
9. Jimmy Hashtags Meryl
During the 2017 Academy Awards, Jimmy Kimmel speaks out about what we were all wondering: was Donald Trump watching the Oscars, considering he has so much free time on his hands to use Twitter? Kimmel tweets at the current president typing #Merylsayshi. Although this was purely for a good laugh, it started trending on Twitter instantly.
8. Kristin Wiig and Steve Carell Presenting at the Golden Globes
Wiig and Carell presented at the 2017 Golden Globes for the best animated feature category. When presenting they discussed the first animated films they watched and also joked about their traumatic childhood memories involving those animated films.
7. From Viola to Meryl
America’s most beloved actress, Meryl Streep, makes it again as number seven on the list for the tribute that Viola gave her when presenting her with the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the Golden Globes. Viola gave a funny, sassy, yet personal speech on her take on Meryl that will leave you in laughter and tears. Then Meryl’s work over her lifetime was shown in a montage video, as if we needed a video to tell us how amazing Meryl is!
6. Chris Rock Opening Monologue: “Is Hollywood Racist?”
This year was the year of the Oscar strike, the year of the #oscarssowhite movement, the year which the Will and Jayda family and Spike Lee were infuriated and refused to watch or attend the Oscars. Many actors outside of Will and Jayda were not too happy with the lack of diversity in nominees that year and although this was a Hollywood issue, it was a wakeup call for lack of diversity across the board on everyday jobs. The Oscars host of 2016 did not shy away from calling out the academy. His monologue was one of the funniest in Oscar history because his humor is all about telling it how it is, even if it makes people uncomfortable. If you haven’t seen it, it’s a must see!
5. Love Wins: Hidden Figures Acceptance Speech
The ladies and cast of Hidden Figures received a SAG at the 23rd Annual SAG Awards for Outstanding Performance by a Cast and it couldn’t have come at a better time. With so much tension in regard to race, gender and ethnicity in the country, this story needed to be told and it came out at a time in which people needed to be informed. Taraji P. Henson gave a great acceptance speech talking about society’s issues and she said a very powerful statement that left us reevaluating our thoughts as well as inspired: “Love wins every time…they are hidden figures no more.”
4. Julia Loui-Dreyfus for the Win ft. Tony Hale
Julia Louis-Dreyfus is one of the most iconic comedic actress in television. From her numerous Emmy wins, the most memorable and hilarious moment was her Emmy win in 2013 for her show Veep. She brought her co-star Tony Hale out as a bit during her acceptance speech. She accepted her award as Selina Myers, her character on Veep, and it was hysterical!
3. Once Again, Kristin Wiig…. and Will Ferrell at Golden Globe 2013
SNL alumni and comedic genius Wil Ferrell and Kristin Wiig presented at the Golden Globes with a bit that had everyone laughing. They did their own reviews on what they “thought” the movies in their category were about because they claimed to have “seen” all of the movies to have an appreciation for them and it was hilarious.
2. Halle Berry Making History for Her Oscar Win
During the Oscars in 2002, Halle Berry changed the game when she became the first African American to win an Oscar in a leading role for her character Leticia Musgrove in Monster’s Ball. Her speech was filled with tears of joy and it was a very iconic moment for the black community.
1. Black Girl Magic… Viola Represent!
Viola Davis made history when she became the first African American woman to win an Emmy for best actress in a drama— it’s sad that it took until 2015 but we did it! She gave a very powerful speech quoting Harriet Tubman. Her words were powerful, and it definitely gave more pride to the black community. Fun fact, she is the first African American to have an Emmy, Oscar and Tony for acting, as if we couldn’t love her even more!
Award History Honorable Mentions
1. TIMES UP
Oprah’s powerful Times Up speech could also be seen as her 2020 campaign launch (well we can wish). She spoke about a powerful woman’s story that the public was unaware of and she also spoke about her goals as an influencer to young women. It was, in one word, inspiring!
2. Taraji’s Win
We can’t forget Taraji P. Henson’s Golden Globe win in 2016! She won for her role as Cookie in her hit show Empire. She made sure that the music that played-off people was not going to cut off her speech. Her speech was funny, sassy and strong!
3. The Love is Real
The last honorable mention is the unforgettable moment when Andrew Garfield and Ryan Reynolds lock lips during Ryan Gosling’s Golden Globe win. It’s reported that originally, they were going to kiss if either one of them won the award that Ryan ended up winning, but when it didn’t happen, they decided to do it anyway.
So that’s a rap of memory lane! Hollywood seems to never disappoint, and we are looking forward to funnier and more inspiring memories in the future!