Seth Meyers is hosting the 2018 Golden Globes, and here’s why not everyone is happy
For decades, the Golden Globes was a hostless affair. But after the three-year hosting reign of Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, the Globes has continued to have hosts — that is, white, male hosts. Seth Meyers is hosting the 2018 Golden Globes and receiving some backlash not necessarily for anything he did, but because he belongs in that “white, male host” category. With all of the 2017 sexual assault allegations in Hollywood, many think it would have been a more meaningful move if the Globes selected a female host for 2018.
Awards shows frequently (and notoriously) employ white men as hosts. For example, Stephen Colbert hosted the 2017 Emmys and Jimmy Kimmel is scheduled to host the 2018 Oscars again. Typically, the networks airing the awards show use their late-night personalities to host. But that’s no excuse, since the late-night atmosphere is disproportionately dominated by white men. It’s a problem. No people of color or women besides Samantha Bee have a late-night show on cable.
It seems that people have been particularly set off by Meyers because they are fed up with accepting the status quo. This decision has also perturbed the public because of the way Meyers’s Golden Globes hosting gig has been reported on and advertised.
One article in particular that caused outrage appeared in Forbes: “The Golden Globes Need A Feminist Host This Year, And Seth Meyers Fits The Bill.” While Meyers is certainly an ally for women and a feminist, some people on Twitter noted that a far more feminist move would be to, you know, have an actual woman host the show.
Here’s the Forbes article:
The Golden Globes need a feminist host this year, and Seth Meyers is the right man for the job https://t.co/DR71adAlMj pic.twitter.com/wYcVJMAKQj
— Forbes Entertainment (@ForbesEnt) November 27, 2017
And here are some reactions to it:
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Or, an actual woman. https://t.co/fEAuNUJCcT
— Soledad O'Brien (@soledadobrien) November 28, 2017
https://twitter.com/udfredirect/status/938575789603414017
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I love Seth Meyers but why not have a woman present Golden Globes or Oscars? Why does it even have to be a feminist thing? Why not just a 50% of humanity thing?!!!
— BJ Jansen PhD 🇺🇦 #RejoinEU (@moogie59) November 29, 2017
The Golden Globes needs a host to explain feminism to women, and Seth Meyers is the right man for the job.
— Matthew Hidalgo (@thewritehidalgo) November 28, 2017
Another person cited a commercial stating that Meyers was the “perfect man” to host. While we could not find the commercial they referenced — and full disclosure, we here at HelloGiggles said the same thing about Meyers being the “perfect man” — the Twitter user noted that perhaps the perfect man would indeed be a woman.
Just saw a commercial that said Seth Meyers was the perfect man to take on Hollywood as host of the Golden Globes. You know who’d be the perfect man for the job?
It’s not a man. It’s a woman.
— Queer Catastrophe (@Neil_McNeil) December 11, 2017
Others noted that there are plenty of women who could have done the job instead of Meyers.
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I love Seth Meyers. But Samantha Bee, Robin Thede, Sarah Silverman, Retta, Kate McKinnon, Ali Wong, America Ferrera and so many more women need to host the Golden Globes, Oscars and Emmys https://t.co/da9iPLMbxG
— Lou #BLM (@LoverOfLyonne) November 29, 2017
Still, Meyers has a significant fanbase, and some supporters are saying Meyers is not to blame for being hired. They also are confident that Meyers will continue to use his brand of socially conscious and political humor to support women and minorities during the Golden Globes.
fun fact you can complain about the lack of diversity in people who get picked to host the golden globes without shitting on seth meyers, a man who constantly uses his platform to elevate the voices of queer women and women of colour. go watch his show sometime, thanks.
— oyanne (@heyholtzmann) November 28, 2017
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friendly reminder not to attack seth meyers because of the way media is branding him as “the feminist host the golden globes needs.” he’s not saying that himself, and he’s tries very hard to be socially educated!!
— britney (@latecoIbert) November 29, 2017
You’ll have to wait and see how Meyers does once the 2018 Golden Globes airs on January 7th. Though we are confident that he’ll do a good job, it’s beyond time that awards shows — and late night, too — start reflecting the population by having more women and people of color in the spotlight, speaking their minds.
