Nikki Glaser takes aim at Trump in 2026 Golden Globes monologue… but Hollywood stars stay silent on politics

Nikki Glaser kicked off the 83rd Golden Globes on Sunday with jabs at President Donald Trump and his second administration that seemed to portend a highly political awards ceremony. 

But in a surprising twist, the Globes largely steered clear of politics for the next few hours, and Trump’s name was almost completely absent from the mouths of presenters and honorees.

Even the few moments when celebrities did speak out — such as anti-ICE protests by Mark Ruffalo and other stars — were muted displays.

One wouldn’t have guessed that the show would steer clear of politics based on Glaser’s blistering opening monologue.

Although she avoided mentioning Trump by name, she alluded to the still largely unreleased Epstein files that he has been implicated in after mentioning the ‘A-listers’ in the audience. 

‘And by A-listers, I mean people who are on “a list” that has been heavily redacted,’ she said, poking fun at the small portion of the Epstein files that have so far been released, often with significant portions censored.

‘And the Golden Globe for best editing goes to… the Justice Department,’ she joked to laughter from the audience.

Glaser also poked fun at the CBS — which broadcast the Golden Globes — and mocked the hiring of Free Press founder and op-ed writer Bari Weiss to become the new editor-in-chief of CBS News.

Weiss has been widely criticized for killing a news segment about the El Salvadorian prison called CECOT, where Venezuelan nationals deported from the US were allegedly tortured.

‘And the award for most editing goes to CBS News,’ Glaser continued. ‘Yes, CBS News: America’s newest place to see BS news. We needed another!’ 

But references and even allusions to Trump and his administration largely dried up after Glaser’s monologue.

Amy Poehler may have obliquely critiqued the administration’s attacks on public broadcasting when she lovingly mocked one of her fellow nominees for Best Podcast, NPR.

Notably, the nominated podcasts were all celebrity-hosted and celebrity-focused shows, except for NPR’s morning news round-up Up First.

‘I have great respect for this form. I have great respect for all the people that I am nominated with,’ Poehler said during her acceptance speech. ‘I am big fans of all of you — except for NPR. Just a bunch of celebs phoning it in. So try harder.’

Some stars launched a muted protest against the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency as it has been constituted under the second Trump administration. 

Mark Ruffalo was joined by stars including Natasha Lyonne and Wanda Sykes as they wore pins reading ‘Be Good’ and ‘ICE Out.’

The pins were protesting ICE’s presence in major Democrat-run cities — including Los Angeles, Minneapolis and Chicago — and the deaths of Renée Macklin Good and Keith Porter at the hands of ICE agents, according to Variety.

The ICE agent Jonathan Ross shot and killed Good, 37, while she was behind the wheel of her Honda Pilot during a protest over immigration raids in Minneapolis on Wednesday.

ICE has since claimed that Good hit Ross with her car and tried to run him over before he fired three shots at her.

However, subsequent video angles — including a leak of video Ross was filming with his cell phone at the same time he was pointing his gun at Good — seem to show her with her wheels turning away from the ICE agent as if she intended to flee. 

The trio of stars were all spotted with ‘Be Good’ pins, but the low-key protest meant that viewers at home likely would have no idea what they were protesting. 

Comedian Nikki Glaser served as the master of ceremonies for the second year in a row with her shocking no-holds-barred sense of humor to her hosting duties.

‘Hosting the Golden Globes this year was without a doubt the most fun I have ever had in my career,’ Glaser, 41, said in a March statement. ‘I can’t wait to do it again, and this time in front of the team from The White Lotus who will finally recognize my talent and cast me in season 4 as a Scandinavian Pilates instructor with a shadowy past.’ 

When it comes to the nominations it is One Battle After Another who leads the pack with a whopping nine nominations.

The Leonardo DiCaprio-starring epic picked up nods in the film categories including Best Picture, Director and Screenwriter, a Best Actor nod for its lead and Supporting Actor recognitions for Benicio del Toro and Sean Penn. 

It will compete against Blue Moon, Bugonia, Marty Supreme, No Other Choice and Nouvelle Vague in the Best Picture – Musical Or Comedy category, with Wicked: For Good a shock snub. 

Over in Best Picture – Drama, Frankenstein, Hamnet, It Was Just An Accident, The Secret Agent, Sentimental Values and Sinners go head to head.

Meanwhile in the TV categories, Netflix smash hit Adolescence built on its success at the Emmys with nods for all of its stars – Stephen Graham, Erin Doherty and 16-year-old Owen Cooper all received nominations alongside a surprise selection for Ashley Walters. 

The show also picked up a nod in the Best Limited TV Series, Anthology Series or Motion Picture Made for TV category, alongside All Her Fault, The Beast in Me, Black Mirror, Dying for Sex and The Girlfriend bringing its total to five nominations.

The White Lotus narrowly beat Adolescence with six nods though, most of which came from the acting categories thanks to its all-star cast.

The major ceremony in the awards season calendar honors the best of film, TV and, for the first time this year, podcasts, across 28 categories. 

This year, all 28 award categories have six nominees, with the exception of Cinematic and Box Office Achievement, which features eight. 

One of the most contentious categories surely will be Best Male Actor – Television – Drama with Sterling K. Brown for Paradise, Diego Luna for Andor, Gary Oldman for Slow Horses, Mark Ruffalo for Task, Adam Scott for Severance and Noah Wyle for The Pitt all up for the gong.

Owen Cooper and Erin Doherty both received acting nominations. Owen, 16, landed a nod in the Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role — TV Series, Limited series or TV Movie.

He will compete against his co-star Ashley Walters as well as Billy Crudup, The Morning Show, Walton Goggins, The White Lotus, Jason Isaac, The White Lotus and Tramell Tillman, Severance.

Erin is up against fellow Brit Aimee Lou Wood for The White Lotus in the Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role — TV Series, Limited series or TV Movie.

Also in the category is Carrie Coon, The White Lotus, Hannah Einbinder, Hacks, Catherine O’Hara, The Studio and Parker Posey, The White Lotus.

Irish actor Paul Mescal has secured a nomination in the Best Supporting Male Actor – Motion Picture category, competing against Benicio Del Toro, One Battle After Another, Jacob Elordi, Frankenstein, Paul Mescal, Hamnet, Sean Penn, One Battle After Another, Adam Sandler, Jay Kelly and Stellan Skarsgard, Sentimental Value.

Best Screenplay saw Paul Thomas Anderson, One Battle After Another, Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie for Marty Supreme, Ryan Coogler, Sinners, Jafar Panahi, It Was Just an Accident and Maggie O’Farrell, Hamnet. 

Elsewhere in the film categories, Joachim Trier’s Norwegian family drama Sentimental Value scored eight nominations, just behind One Battle After Another.

Ryan Coogler’s Sinners got seven nods and Chloe Zhao’s Hamnet nabbed five total nods tying its total with that of Jon M. Chu’s Wicked: For Good.

Wicked’s sequel was the surprise snub as it missed out in the Best Musical or Comedy category. Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande were recognized in the acting categories though.  

Other notable snubs included Sydney Sweeney’s lack of nomination for Christy in the Best Actress (drama) category, with Jennifer Lawrence (Die My Love), Tessa Thompson (Hedda) and Julia Roberts (After The Hunt) included alongside surprise star Eva Victor for her performance in the independent US film Sorry, Baby.

Irish actress Jessie Buckley (Hamnet), who is seen as the front-runner, completes the category.

Kathryn Bigelow of Netflix nuclear thriller A House of Dynamite failed to pick up a single nomination as did Bradley Cooper’s Is This Thing On?

Timothee Chalamet is hoping for his first Globes win after four previous nominations and missing out on a tipped win last year for his performance in A Complete Unknown. He earned the Best Actor award at The Critics Choice Awards last week.

This year he is up in the Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy category for Marty Supreme. 

One winner has already been announced as Dame Helen Mirren will be the recipient of the Cecil B DeMille Golden Globe for lifetime achievement.

Dame Helen will be presented with the prestigious gong, whose previous recipients  include Meryl Streep, Alfred Hitchcock and last year’s winner Viola Davis, in a ceremony on January 8, three days before the main Golden Globes take place.

‘Helen Mirren is a force of nature, and her career is nothing short of extraordinary,’ said Helen Hoehne, president of the Golden Globes. 

‘Her transcendent performances and commitment to her craft continue to inspire generations of artists and audiences alike. It is a profound honour to present her with the Cecil B DeMille award.’