Jean Smart used her latest Golden Globe victory to do more than thank collaborators. Accepting another trophy for her work on The Hacks, the 74 year old star pivoted from jokes to a pointed appeal, urging millions watching to “let’s all do the right thing” as the United States navigates a volatile political moment. Her message capped an evening in which she had already turned the red carpet into a forum for civic anxiety and personal resolve.
Across the show, the veteran actor’s mix of candor and humor stood out in a room otherwise focused on career milestones and box office wins. Smart’s comments, onstage and off, framed the ceremony as a backdrop to a country in flux and challenged viewers to see their own choices as part of the story.
From red carpet unease to a pointed plea onstage
Before she ever reached the podium, Smart signaled that she did not intend to treat the Golden Globes as a bubble sealed off from real life. On the arrivals line, the The Hacks lead acknowledged that the night felt “overshadowed” by political turmoil in the United States, describing a sense that celebration and dread were colliding in the same space. As cameras tracked her down the carpet on Sunday in Jan, she referred back to her work on The Hacks while stressing that, at 74, she felt a responsibility to speak plainly about the stakes facing the country, a moment captured in detail in one widely shared red carpet exchange.
That sense of unease carried into another conversation in Jan, when Smart told an interviewer from Variety that she was “not as optimistic” as she wanted to be about the country’s direction and felt that if people had a platform to push for decency “you should do it.” The remarks, delivered with the same dry timing that powers her comedy, made clear that she saw the Globes spotlight as a tool rather than a shield, a point underscored in the follow up coverage of her comments and in a separate Variety interview that amplified her call for action.
A “greedy” winner who keeps turning jokes into responsibility
Once inside the ballroom, Smart’s category became one of the night’s most closely watched contests. She ultimately prevailed again for best performance by a female actor in a television musical or comedy, adding a third Golden Globe Award for her portrayal on The Hacks. In her acceptance, she leaned into self deprecation, quipping “What Can I Say? I’m a Greedy Bitch” as she acknowledged how rare it is to keep returning to the same stage, a line that echoed through social media and was later highlighted in detailed coverage of her.
Yet the joke was only the setup. After winning her third Golden Globe Award for best performance by a female actor in a television musical or comedy, Smart shifted tone and told the room, “let’s do the right thing,” a line that quickly became the defining quote of the night and was replayed widely in clips shared from the ceremony, including one viral Instagram post. A separate recap framed the moment as “Jean Smart Implores” viewers with the phrase “Let, All Do the Right Thing, After Golden Globes Win,” underscoring how her brief appeal cut through the usual awards show patter and turned a personal triumph into a shared assignment, as noted in a detailed account of the.
A politically charged ceremony where subtle symbols spoke loudly
Smart’s remarks landed in a room already humming with political subtext. On the same carpet where she voiced her worries, other attendees wore “Be Good” and “Ice Out” pins that quietly signaled concern about how power is being used and “what they’re doing to people,” as one actor named Wanda explained when asked by Variety. Those accessories, which became a talking point in roundups of what Everyone was Reading from the Globes, were unpacked in a closer look at the pin messaging and helped frame Smart’s onstage plea as part of a broader, if understated, wave of dissent.
Inside the show, Smart kept her acceptance speech lighter than her earlier “rant,” as one recap put it, but still hinted that “a lot that could be said tonight” about the state of the world. She nodded to that tension while choosing to emphasize gratitude, resilience and the need “to keep our heads,” a balance that was captured in a detailed breakdown of her and echoed in another analysis of her that emphasized how she threaded politics through a night of celebration.
Standing out in a crowded field of winners
The 2026 Golden Globes were packed with notable victories, from KPop Demon Hunters taking a trophy for Netflix to Sinners scoring for Warner Bros, part of a sprawling winners list that underscored how global and franchise driven the awards have become. On the television side, The Studio claimed a Golden Globe for best television series (comedy), one of several headline grabbing results tracked in live updates from the, while film categories saw Paul Thomas Anderson named WINNER for One Battle After Another in best director and best screenplay discussions that were detailed in a comprehensive roundup of honorees.
Elsewhere in the room, nostalgia and novelty collided as Golden Globes veterans and newcomers shared the spotlight. George Clooney and Noah Wyle reunited around a win for The Pitt, a moment chronicled in rolling coverage of the, while the song Golden from KPOP Demon Hunters earned the Golden Globe for Best Original Song, spotlighting songwriter EJAE in a detailed live blog. Veteran performers also surged in early categories, with One Battle After Another and Paul Thomas Anderson singled out in a summary of veteran, while Smart’s own category was framed as a standout moment in a separate recap of her and in live notes that tracked how the Hacks leading lady once again turned a standard thank you into something more pointed, as reflected in multiple accounts of the.
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