The Golden Globes Confounds With Its Strange, Unintentionally Hilarious Twitter Awards Announcements

Ok, so by now, you know the story of the 2022 Golden Globes. For years, the Globes has been seen as the next-biggest awards show below the Academy Awards and the Emmy Awards for film and TV, respectively. But after controversy struck last year, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association decided to take a backseat for 2022.

READ MORE: ‘West Side Story,’ ‘Power of the Dog’ & ‘Succession’ Top 2022 Golden Globe Awards Winners

 The Globes were dropped by NBC and reports swirled that the HFPA wasn’t able to land any real star power for a ceremony. So, what ended up happening is the Golden Globes were held in a private ceremony for the HFPA and then the results were tweeted to the public. Sure, this is far from an ideal way to keep the Globes relevant, but it’s better than nothing right? Well, maybe not. You see, it appears the HFPA couldn’t even do a Twitter live update without some cringe-y, unintentionally hilarious moments.

If you only care about the winners, feel free to read our breakdown of the complete winners from last night’s odd Globes. But this is where we have to discuss the Twitter breakdown, where it would seem one of two things happened: Either 1) the HFPA hired an intern to announce the winners and that person was not equipped for the job, or 2) perhaps the social media person for the HFPA had one too many cocktails and really wasn’t paying attention to what was being tweeted.

The most egregious example was with the wins for “West Side Story.” The musical remake directed by Steven Spielberg won Best Picture – Musical or Comedy. But when it was tweeted, clearly the HFPA had a stock tweet (geared towards a comedic win) and just plugged in “West Side Story” in the winner’s spot. 

The tweet read, “If laughter is the best medicine, ‘West Side Story’ is the cure for what ails you. Congrats on the Golden Globe for Best Picture – Musical/Comedy.” 

If you saw “West Wide Story” and thought, “Wow, what a hilarious, laugh-out-loud comedy!” you’re a bit confused why this tweet is cringe. But for everyone else, this is just one example of the Golden Globes snafus. (Though, to be fair, the Globes did make a new tweet, fixing the ‘West Side Story’ hilarity.)

The other “West Side Story” winner tweet that came under scrutiny is when the Golden Globes posted, “? Lean on me. ? This talented actress is being recognized for her incredible contribution to West Side Story. Congratulations @arianadebose  for taking home the #GoldenGlobe for Best Supporting Actress — Motion Picture.”

Oh boy…

The hits keep on coming when the Globes announced that Andrew Garfield won Best Actor- Musical/Comedy for his performance in “tick, tick…boom.” A film that is most definitely a musical…but would never in a million years be considered a comedy. Especially, when you think about the heartfelt, sobering performance of Garfield.

The Globes tweeted, “It takes 43 muscles to smile. Thanks for the work out ?️‍♀️ Andrew Garfield, and congratulations for taking home the #GoldenGlobe for Best Actor — Motion Picture  — Musical/Comedy.”

Also, as was pointed out by Twitter folks, the Golden Globes decided the best course of action when giving out awards for some of the biggest Acting categories was to congratulate the winners…but not mention what project they won for. A bold choice, indeed.

Every year, the televised Golden Globes earns its reputation for being unpredictable and somewhat controversial. Typically, this is because of a host making an off-color joke, a winner making an odd speech, or perhaps even a somewhat head-scratching film earning top honors. But even without the televised ceremony, a controversial host, or the potential of live-TV mishaps, you have to hand it to the Golden Globes for providing the funny regardless. Even if it was completely unintentional.