Hollywood stars declare war on sexual misconduct at Golden Globes

Oprah Winfrey became the first black woman to be awarded a Golden Globe for lifetime achievement on Sunday, delivering an impassioned speech in support of those who have exposed sexual misconduct in Hollywood and beyond.

Actor, movie and television producer, and chief executive of her OWN cable channel, Winfrey, 63, was celebrated as a role model for women and a person who has promoted strong female characters.

Her honor came in a year when the awards show, Hollywood's first leading up to the Oscars, was dominated by a scandal that has seen the downfall of dozens of powerful men as women break years of silence.

Winfrey, who along with most of the show's other attendees donned a black gown to show support for victims of sexual misconduct, was the first black woman to receive the annual Cecil B. De Mille award, joining the likes of Meryl Streep, Steven Spielberg, Barbra Streisand and Sophia Loren.

Winfrey used her speech to praise women who have shared their stories of sexual harassment and abuse, and to declare that "a new day is on the horizon" for girls and women.

"Speaking your truth is the most powerful tool we all have," actress and media powerhouse Oprah Winfrey told the audience at the Beverly Hilton as she accepted a lifetime achievement award.

"For too long, women have not been heard or believed if they dare speak the truth to the power of those men. But their time is up," she added, earning a standing ovation.

Actors turned out in black in solidarity with victims of Weinstein and numerous other figures exposed by the harassment and abuse scandal, including Kevin Spacey, Brett Ratner and Dustin Hoffman.

And the overall message was a call for continued change.

"People are aware now of a power imbalance. It's led to abuse in our industry. (…) It's everywhere," Meryl Streep, who is vying for a Globe for her work in media drama "The Post," told E! network on the red carpet.

Fellow Oscar winner Viola Davis added: "It's all of these women just embracing their authentic voices and standing in solidarity with each other."

Seth Meyers, making his debut as Globes host, opened the show with joke after joke about Hollywood's post-Weinstein reckoning.

"It's 2018, marijuana is finally allowed and sexual harassment finally isn't. It's going to be a good year," the late night NBC funnyman said.

"For the male nominees in the room tonight, this is the first time in three months it won't be terrifying to hear your name read out loud."

'Shape of Water' vs 'The Post'

The ceremony at the Beverly Hilton is not as reliable at predicting Oscars glory as the galas held by Hollywood's acting, producing and directing unions.

But it remains one of the most high-profile and glamorous events of the awards calendar and tends to generate more headlines for tipsy tributes and wacky one-liners.

Leading the pack this year is Guillermo del Toro's fantasy romance "The Shape of Water" with seven nominations, while "The Post" and "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri" went into the night tied for second, with six each.

Overall, 25 awards are given out - 14 for movies and 11 for TV - and, as usual, the 90-member HFPA has sprung more than a few surprises in the nominations, placing horror satire "Get Out" in the best comedy-musical category.

But there were no nominations at all for female filmmakers despite huge successes in 2017 for Greta Gerwig ("Lady Bird"), Patty Jenkins ("Wonder Woman"), Dee Rees ("Mudbound"), Kathryn Bigelow ("Detroit") and Sofia Coppola ("The Beguiled").

The first film award of the evening went to Sam Rockwell, who took home the best supporting actor in a film prize for crime drama "Three Billboards."

He paid tribute to his "actor-friendly" director Martin McDonagh and co-star Frances McDormand, whom he described as "a force of nature."

McDonagh also won for best screenplay. But Del Toro took the best director prize.

Big night for 'Big Little Lies'

While many fields were wide open, James Franco ("The Disaster Artist") was always a shoo-in to win best actor in a musical/comedy movie.

Franco - who also directed the film about Tommy Wiseau's flop-turned-cult-hit "The Room" - gave a shoutout to his brother and co-star Dave, telling the gathered celebrities: "I love him more than anything. Thanks to my mother for giving him to me."

On the small screen, HBO's "Big Little Lies" scooped up a rare trio of acting awards for Nicole Kidman, Alexander Skarsgard and Laura Dern.

"I hope we can elicit change through the stories we tell and the way we tell them," said Kidman, who was named best actress in a limited series for her role as an abused wife in the show.

Dern urged Hollywood to support survivors of abuse and to promote restorative justice. 

"May we teach our children that speaking out without the fear of retribution is our culture's new north star," she said.

"The Handmaid's Tale" followed up its Emmys night glory, when it won four statuettes, by beating perennial awards juggernaut "Game of Thrones" to the Globe for best TV series.  

Its star Elisabeth Moss also took home the prize for best actress in a drama, and thanked Margaret Atwood, who wrote the best-selling dystopian novel on which the Hulu series was based.

"Margaret Atwood, this is for you and the women who came before you and after you who were brave enough to speak out against intolerance and injustice and to fight for equality and freedom in this world," Moss said.

Here is the list of winners for the 75th Golden Globe Awards, which were handed out on Sunday in Beverly Hills:

Film

Best film, drama: "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri"

Best film, musical or comedy: "Lady Bird"

Best director:  Guillermo del Toro, "The Shape of Water"

Best actor, drama: Gary Oldman, "Darkest Hour"

Best actress, drama: Frances McDormand, "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri"

Best actor, musical or comedy: James Franco, "The Disaster Artist"

Best actress, musical or comedy: Saoirse Ronan, "Lady Bird"

Best supporting actor: Sam Rockwell, "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri"

Best supporting actress: Allison Janney, "I, Tonya"

Best screenplay: Martin McDonagh, "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri"

Best foreign language film: "In the Fade"

Best animated feature: "Coco"

Best original score: Alexandre Desplat, "The Shape of Water"

Best original song: Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, "This Is Me" from "The Greatest Showman"

Television

Best drama series: "The Handmaid's Tale"

Best drama actor: Sterling K. Brown, "This is Us"

Best drama actress: Elisabeth Moss, "The Handmaid's Tale"

Best musical or comedy series: "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel"

Best musical or comedy actor: Aziz Ansari, "Master of None"

Best musical or comedy actress: Rachel Brosnahan, "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel"

Best limited series or TV movie: "Big Little Lies"

Best limited series or TV movie actor: Ewan McGregor, "Fargo"

Best limited series or TV movie actress: Nicole Kidman, "Big Little Lies"

Best supporting actor in a series, limited series or TV movie: Alexander Skarsgard, "Big Little Lies"

Best supporting actress in a series, limited series or TV movie: Laura Dern, "Big Little Lies"