The 75th Golden Globe Awards, held in the backdrop of issues such as harassment of women currently riddling the American film and television industry, also saw Indian American members of the fraternity making their presence felt. While Aziz Ansari won the Golden Globe for the Best Comedy Actor in a TV Series category for Netflix Original show Master of None, Meher Tatna, the president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), chose to wear red when most other women followed the call to dress in black.
HFPA is the non-profit organization that conducts the Golden Globe Awards every year. The awards ceremony, held in California on Jan. 7, was used as a platform by women in the industry to show support for movements such as Time’s Up and #MeToo, started against sexual harassment after the Weinstein controversies. While most actresses, including leading stars such as Meryl Streep, Oprah Winfrey, Nicole Kidman, and Angelina Jolie , wore black to underline their stand on the issue, Tatna chose to wear red.
“I do have my Time’s Up button, so (I’m) standing in solidarity with all these other women,” Tatna, who is Indian and was born in Mumbai, told Entertainment Tonight. “The HFPA is 60 percent women, we’ll have our stories. We are also journalists, so anybody who expresses themselves, especially on this topic, we are in solidarity with,” she added. Tatna said she opted for red in honor of her mother. “My mom and I planned this together a couple of months ago, it is a cultural thing. When you have a celebration, you don’t wear black. So she would be appalled if I were to (have) worn black. And so this is for my mom.”
Her decision became a much talked-about topic of discussion on social media, with people posting differing opinions on the matter.
Meher Tatna, President of Hollywood Foreign Press Association, is the only person seen on television (so far) not wearing black. Her vibrant red dress shows the dichotomy between the people standing together for women’s safety and people who chose fashion over purpose.
— Morgan Trau (@MorganTrau) January 8, 2018
Delighted, because I’d no idea a South Asian woman, Meher Tatna, is the President of the HFPA. #marginsfade
I wish she’d worn a black Baluchari or Benarasi, though.
— Lynn Ghose Cabrera ☕ (@ElsiethePM) January 8, 2018
I’m not really into what people wear to award shows, but.. why on earth did @mehertatna not wear black! She has such an important role with the #goldenglobes #timeisup She is the success story for Indian descendents like myself #colourmatters
— Jessy Rajan (@JessRaRa) January 8, 2018
uh.. no. it’s not against indian culture to wear black except in mourning. this is totally inaccurate. https://t.co/XjcBaeHEuv
— nabilah irshad (@NabilahIrshad) January 8, 2018
The decision to wear black was taken by Hollywood actresses and some of them went a step ahead and brought activists with them to the event. Comic actress Amy Poehler came with Indian American attorney and activist Saru Jayaraman. She works towards fair wages for restaurant workers.
Amy Poehler: “Legislation is close to being passed. That makes this real. Symbols are important. coming together is important but working to make real change, that’s what makes it real.” Saru Jayaraman. “We are already seeing the impact of this expanding.” #goldenglobes #timesup pic.twitter.com/L0BKmMKGqe
— Cara Buckley (@caraNYT) January 8, 2018
<3 these women. @AmericaFerrera @RWitherspoon @kerrywashington @LenaWaithe @LauraDern @EmmaWatson @shailenewoodley @smrtgrls @TraceeEllisRoss @TaranaBurke @SaruJayaraman @monica_promumi #TIMESUP pic.twitter.com/w5D3QoSJAP
— Ai-jen Poo (@aijenpoo) January 8, 2018
Ansari, meanwhile, won his first Golden Globe. The actor, born to a Tamil family in the United States, won the award for the Netflix Original show Master of None, which he has co-written. The show is loosely based on his own life.
“I genuinely didn’t think I was gonna win cause all the websites said I was going to lose,” Ansari, 34, said in his acceptance speech. “That would’ve been s—-y if I had lost two years in a row.”
And the winner of Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy at the #GoldenGlobes is… @azizansari for @MasterofNone! pic.twitter.com/UgwpCH45yd
— Golden Globe Awards (@goldenglobes) January 8, 2018
Ansari’s speech was also mostly beeped out for the use of swear words.
AZIZ ANSARI I THINK JUST BECAME THE FIRST INDIAN ACTOR TO WIN A GOLDEN GLOBE FOR BEST PERFORMANCE IN A TELEVISION SERIES FOR A MUSICAL/COMEDY WHILE SIMULTANEOUSLY BECOMING THE FIRST PERSON TONIGHT TO HAVE 1/6 OF HIS SPEECH BLEEPED #breakingbarriers #azizansari #GoldenGlobes
— daswassup (@daswassup21) January 8, 2018