Golden Globes host Ricky Gervais concluded Sunday’s telecast on NBC with a joke about Harvey Weinstein, calling out Hollywood for looking the other way for decades as the movie producer allegedly engaged in multiple acts of sexual assault and harassment.
Gervais’ gentle reminder came on the eve of Weinstein’s criminal trial in New York, where the Oscar-winning Shakespeare in Love producer faces five counts of sex crimes, including rape and predatory sexual assault. The trial was set to begin Monday morning in a lower Manhattan court.
On Sunday, Ricky Gervais let loose on Hollywood while introducing presenter Sandra Bullock.
“Our next presenter starred in Netflix’s Bird Box, a movie where people survive by acting like they don’t see a thing. Sort of like working for Harvey Weinstein,” he quipped.
When the celebrity audience let out a loud groan, Gervais replied: “You did it! I didn’t. You did it. Shut the fuck up.”
Weinstein’s alleged behavior was an open secret in Hollywood for decades. But stars still lined up to work for him in the hopes of benefiting from his infamously aggressive awards campaigning, which landed many performers glittery statuettes.
His movie career came to an end in 2017 when a slew of women, including several high profile Hollywood actresses, publicly accused him of rape and harassment dating back to the 1980s.
Gervais’s joke about Weinstein capped a long night in which the British actor-comedian repeatedly insulted his Hollywood audience.
Despite warning them to avoid politics for the evening, actors including Patricia Arquette, Michelle Williams, Russell Crowe, Cate Blanchett, and Sacha Baron Cohen couldn’t stop themselves from using their pulpit to lecture viewers at home on issues including climate change, abortion, and the 2020 presidential election.
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