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Lily Gladstone recently voiced her opinion about attending award ceremonies in the industry. According to Gladstone, award ceremonies are like the Squid Games, the infamous contest from the Netflix chartbuster of the same name, where the contestants need to endure adversity after adversity to survive to the end of every round.
In an interview on The Kelly Clarkson Show, the Killers Of The Flower Moon actress complained about being in uncomfortable attire during the Golden Globes. The only respite came in the form of commercial breaks, which were too few and far between.
“The Globes was a little bit like Squid Game. I mean the reality is, you’re in shapewear, you need to pee, you have commercial breaks but that’s the only time that you’re able to do it," explained Lily Gladstone.
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The actress also talked about the good parts of award shows like meeting her favorite idols. Here, Lily Gladstone particularly hinted at meeting The Devil Wears Prada star Meryl Streep.
“So, it’s just a mad scramble and then that’s the time when you get to like jam in meeting idols like, you know, Meryl Streep. Of course, that part is not bad,” explained Lily Gladstone.
Lily Gladstone became the first Indigenous woman to win the Best Actress award at the Golden Globes
In January 2024, Lily Gladstone became the first-ever Indigenous woman to win Best Actress in a Drama Motion Picture at the 81st Golden Globe Award ceremony for her role in Martin Scorcese's Killers Of the Flower Moon. Gladstone delivered most of her acceptance speech in her native language, Blackfeet.
The actress explained how sound mixers translate acceptance speeches into various native languages after the winner is done saying in English. However, she wanted to give her speech in her native language from the outset and expressed her gratitude for being able to do so.
"I’m so grateful that I can speak even a little bit of my language, which I’m not fluent in, up here because, in this business, Native actors used to speak their lines in English and then the sound mixers would run them backwards to accomplish Native languages on camera," explained Lily Gladstone.
The actress finally thanked everyone involved and elaborated on how the award belonged to every little child dreaming of reaching the coveted podium regardless of their background.
“This is for every little res kid, every little urban kid, every little Native kid out there who has a dream who is seeing themselves represented, and our stories told by ourselves, in our own words with tremendous allies and tremendous trust with and from each other,” concluded Lily Gladstone.
Joaquin Phoenix, Will Smith, and other big names who have criticized award shows in the past
Lily Gladstone is just one of the many big names in the industry who have voiced their cynicism about award shows. Juggernauts like Joaquin Phoenix, Woody Allen, John Gielgud, Katharine Hepburn, and Anthony Hopkins have all been extremely skeptical about award shows in the past.
Joaquin Phoenix called out the lack of diversity at the BAFTA Awards in his acceptance speech in 2020 when he won Best Leading Actor for his role in Joker. The 49-year-old called out the fact that no people of color were nominated in any of the four top award categories at the BAFTA Awards in 2020.
“I feel conflicted because so many of my fellow actors that are deserving don’t have that same privilege. I think that we send a very clear message to people of color that you’re not welcome here. I think that’s the message that we’re sending to people that have contributed so much to our medium and our industry and in ways that we benefit from,” explained Phoenix.
Katharine Hepburn attended the Oscar ceremony zero times despite winning four Oscars for her works. The actress finally attended the award show in 1974 to give away the Memorial Prize. There, she talked about her reluctance to go to award ceremonies.
"My prize is my work," declared Hepburn. "I'm living proof that a person can wait 41 years to be unselfish,"
Will Smith and his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, reportedly boycotted the Oscars 2016 for the sheer lack of diversity. In a 2016 interview with ABC's Good Morning America, Will Smith explained his decision and talked about the lack of diversity in award ceremonies.
“So many different people from so many different places adding their ideas to this beautiful American gumbo. At its best, Hollywood represents and creates the imagery for that beauty. But for my part, I think I have to protect and fight for the ideals that make our country and make our Hollywood community great," explained Smith.
Finally, the late Glenda Jackson compared the Oscars to "a whole shebang of nonsense" in an interview in 2016 for EW’s special Oscar issue. The English actress and politician stressed that award shows nowadays focus more on publicity and less on talented actors.
“The Oscars have been transformed into what they are now. They have much less to do with cinema. They are about frocks and the whole shebang of nonsense," commented Jackson.
Furthermore, she exposed the fact that the competition has shifted to be between award shows and everything has become a publicity stunt in modern times.
She even zeroed in on the fact that The Golden Globes weren't such a big thing back in her day and winners would be "lucky to get a notice in the next day’s Los Angeles Times." However, the publicity nowadays is 'ludicrous' according to the late actress.
