The Biggest Asian Moments at the 2026 Golden Globes

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Written By Heli Bhavsar

The “Golden” Globes moment, Hudson Williams’ debut and more.

Audrey Nuna, EJAE and Rei Ami at the 2026 Golden Globes. Photo: Sthanlee Mirador/PA Images/INSTARimages.

The awards season for 2026 has officially kicked off!

The 2026 Golden Globes saw Asian creatives making history and a lot of noise. Here are the biggest moments from this year’s show:

Asians on the Red Carpet

Asian celebrities slayed the red carpet with style and charisma. RepASIAN’s top picks include Audrey Nuna, one of the singing voices from KPop Demon Hunters, in a striking look from Thom Browne’s fall collection, Priyanka Chopra Jonas in a Dior gown and Bulgari jewelry and Heated Rivalry star Hudson Williams in an Armani look also wearing jewelry from Bulgari. 

Maggie Kang becomes first Asian woman to win best animated feature

KPop Demon Hunters, the Netflix mega-hit following a Korean girl band that uses music to save the world from demons, won two awards from its three nominations: Best Animated Motion Picture and Best Original Song. This former makes director Maggie Kang the first Asian woman to win in the Best Animated Feature category. In her acceptance speech, Kang talked about female representation in the film. “We really wanted to depict women the way that we know them. Which is really strong and bold, really silly and weird, really hungry for food and sometimes a little thirsty.”

Fellow film director Chris Appelhans, who also accepted the Best Animated Feature award, said the film is a “love letter to music” noting its power “to make us see some kind of shared humanity.” 

And EJAE makes history as the first korean american to win best original song

The film’s popular song, “Golden” won the award for Best Original Song. The global chart-topper’s singer-songwriter EJAE accepted the award alongside co-writer Mark Sonnenblick and Lee Hee-Joon. In her acceptance speech, EJAE dedicated the award to people who’ve lost opportunities. “I can confidently say, rejection is redirection, so never give up.”

Tearing up, she shared her experience of dreaming to become a KPop idol, working hard for it and getting rejected. She ended her speech with a call back to the song’s lyrics, “it’s never too late to shine like you were born to be.”

Hamnet takes top award

Hamnet won the Best Drama Motion Picture beating fellow nominees Frankenstein, It Was Just an Accident, The Secret Agent, Sentimental Value and Sinners. Directed by Chloé Zhao, the film is a reimagining of William Shakespeare’s life that leads to his creation of the Hamlet. Accepting the award, producer Steven Spielberg and director Zhao took the mic. 

“I love the book, but I felt that really there was only one filmmaker on the planet that could tell the story … and that was the exceptional, exceptional, exceptional Chloé Zhao," Spielberg said.

In her speech, Zhao recalled the words of actor Paul Mescal, who plays William Shakespeare in the film.

“Paul said making Hamnet made him realize the most important thing of being an artist is learning to be vulnerable enough to allow ourselves to be seen for who we are, not who we ought to be, and to give ourselves fully to the world ... so the people we speak to can learn to fully accept themselves,” she said.

She wrapped up her thoughts for the audience with, “let's do this together, let's keep seeing each other and let's keep allowing ourselves to be seen.”

Hudson Williams makes his globes debut

Heated Rivalry star Hudson Williams made his Golden Globes debut as he presented the award for Best Female Actor in a Supporting Role for television with his co-star Connor Storrie.

Since the Crave original became massively popular worldwide, so have the stars. Williams’ quirky nature has been the highlight for the fandom as he doesn’t shy away from literally anything he’s asked. Case in point: the Korean Canadian actor’s interview with Gayle King where he described his perfect first date as “Good conversation, good laughing ... and good fucking!”

Lee Byung-hun and Hudson Williams’ glambot moments

Another viral unhinged Hudson moment includes his first Glambot, where he gave his now-signature move for the camera: two middle fingers.

No Other Choice star Lee Byung-hun also delighted fans with his Glambot moment: a cheeky smile.

Political Statements through Fashion

Poppy Liu. Photo via Instagram/@poppyliu.

As stars walked down the red carpet, accepted their awards and gave interviews, it became apparent that some were signalling support for social and humanitarian causes. One celebrity who used fashion as a political statement was Hacks star Poppy Liu, who was spotted wearing an “Artists4Ceasefire” pin to show her support for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. Aside from these pins, however, the show was jarringly…apolitical, given the current climate. And this is notable considering several celebrated projects of the night were political or featured political topics, such as One Battle After Another, The Pitt, The Voice of Hind Rajab, The Secret Agent and It Was Just An Accident.

Heli Bhavsar
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