William Gallagher
Golden Globes host Ricky Gervais praised the Apple TV+ drama series, but then as Tim Cook watched, accused Apple of running sweatshops. "The Morning Show" won none of its three nominated awards.
Apple CEO Tim Cook was among the Hollywood stars attending the 77th Golden Globes presentation last night, as Apple TV+ drama "The Morning Show" had been nominated for three awards. The series won none, but Apple was also the target of considerable criticism from host Ricky Gervais about allegations that Apple uses sweatshops.
Gervais began by praising "The Morning Show," and got applause from the audience, but then in mid-sentence changed to an accusation as Tim Cook watched.
"Apple rolled into the TV game with a superb drama about the importance of dignity and doing the right thing," he said, "made by a company that runs sweatshops in China."
Gervais is known for making controversial statements when presenting awards but then tried to bring in more technology firms and simultaneously turn the heat onto all of the celebrities present.
"So you [the celebrities] say you're woke, but the companies you work for, unbelievable," he continued. "Apple, Amazon, Disney, if ISIS started a streaming service, you'd call your agent, right?"
That did sound as if he meant Apple and the other firms would call their agents, but Gervais's final points on the issue were unambiguously focused on Hollywood stars.
"If you do win an award tonight, don't use it as a platform to make a political speech," he said. "You're not in a position to lecture the public about anything."
"You know nothing about the real world," he continued. "Most of you spent less time in school than Greta Thunberg. So if you win, come up, accept your little award, thank your agent and your God, and f*** off."
"The Morning Show" had been nominated for best television drama series, but the award went to HBO's "Succession" instead. Both Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon were nominated as best actress in a television drama series, but that award went to Olivia Colman for "The Crown."
A full list of all the winners and nominees is on the official Golden Globes site.
The Golden Globes are awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, an organization representing all of the journalists that cover US entertainment news for other countries. It's seen as precursor to other ceremonies such as the Emmys.
"The Morning Show" has also been nominated for two awards from the Screen Actors Guild. Those results will be announced at a ceremony on January 19.
Charles Martin
Christine McKee
Oliver Haslam
59 Comments
He roasted everyone. Standard cringe-worthy Gervais fare. I am not a fan, but Cook should have known what he was walking into.
Welcome to Hollywood, Tim!
Ricky Gervais is showing his ignorance.
In other news, let see a show of hands for the most ridiculous use of a word in the English language. “Woke.” What an unimaginative and poorly thought up way of expressing oneself.
Award Shows 🥱😴.
Does anyone watch these award shows anyway? It’s usually a bunch of fake & shallow hypocritical actors kissing each other’s behinds. To have the host insult them is ironic. And to have him make comments about Apple that aren’t accurate is harmful and slanderous. Hey, you could argue EVERY product made in China is made in a sweatshop - none of those workers are paid fair wages, in which case all companies that manufacture in China are guilty. At least Apple attempts to bring better working conditions and more environmentally friendly processes - I would say they are way ahead of Microsoft, Dell, and all the other tech/consumer products companies in their efforts.