It’s time for our favourite season: awards!
Often called Hollywood’s biggest party, the Golden Globes are typically regarded as the kick-off to the race to the Oscars with many of the same stars and projects nominated here as at March’s prestigious event. This year, Asian projects and performers took to the red carpet and the stage to celebrate their achievements.
Here are the biggest moments from the 2025 Golden Globes.
Asian celebrities slay the red carpet
Our faves never fail to serve looks on the red carpet. Our best dressed list includes Shōgun‘s Anna Sawai in a stunning white Dior gown, All We Imagine as Light director Payal Kapadia in a chic black and red pantsuit and Mindy Kaling wearing an on-theme sparkly golden dress from Ashi Studio and Ke Huy Quan in a dapper Thom Browne suit.
Shōgun swept the race
Already one of the most celebrated seasons in television, FX’s Shōgun took home all four awards it was nominated for: Actor in a Drama TV series (Hiroyuki Sanada), Actress in a Drama TV Series (Anna Sawai), Supporting Actor in a Drama TV series (Tadanobu Asano) and Best Drama TV Series.
Aside from an impressive sweep, these wins also make awards history. The cast is made up primarily of Japanese actors and Sanada is the first Asian actor to win this award, and the first Japanese actor to win any Golden Globe. His co-star Asano is also the first Japanese actor to win a Golden Globe in this category. Hilariously, in Asano’s short acceptance speech, he explained that he’d be back on a flight to Japan that same night to continue shooting. “I’m very happy, thank you!” he ended is speech, to raucous applause in the room.
And, 44 years after the original Shōgun miniseries aired, and actress Yoko Shimada won for her performance as Lady Mariko, Anna Sawai wins the same award for her performance in the same role. While Sawai’s performance and win deserve to be celebrated, and the two wins over four decades apart are a testament to Shōgun and Lady Mariko’s enduring power, it’s also an interesting symbol for the roles that are available to Asian women. It’s a sobering thought: that in 44 years and after so much progress and Asian representation, the roles that Asian women are recognized for haven’t changed at all.
Michelle Yeoh served mother
As everyone’s fave Michelle Yeoh took the stage with her Wicked co-star Jeff Goldblum to present Best Song, the two actors jokingly called out the internet for calling Goldblum “zaddy” and for saying that Yeoh is “serving mother” and is “slay the boots house down.” A quick cut to their Wicked cast mates Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, who both emphatically nodded in agreement at the internet’s “mother” assessment of Yeoh, had us cackling on our couches.
“I would never slay anyone’s house down,” Yeoh finished the bit with. All we can say is: they ate and left no crumbs.
Ali Wong wins for Single Lady
Our favourite raunchy comedian took home the second-ever Golden Globe for Best Stand-Up Special last night, beating out comedy heavyweights like Jamie Foxx, Seth Meyers, Adam Sandler, Ramy Youssef and Globes host Nikki Glazer.
In her acceptance speech, Wong thanked the comedy community in her hometown of San Francisco, where she got her start in comedy clubs and open mics.
Jon M. Chu took the stage after Wicked‘s big win
Despite being snubbed for Best Director, Wicked director Jon M. Chu took the stage near the end of the televised show to accept the award for Cinematic Box Office Achievement. Chu’s energetic speech thanked the cast and crew for their work and shouted out his immigrant parents. “My parents came to this country and loved Wizard of Oz. They’d tell us about the yellow brick road and the place over the rainbow, where all dreams come true if you dare to dream it. So I’m up here looking at you, living the dream and looking at this beautiful, beautiful cast. It’s more beautiful than I ever thought it could be.” Cue the tears!
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