Queer Moments Sparkled at the Golden Globe Awards
From Wanda Sykes to Heated Rivalry, LGBTQ visibility had its moments.
The Golden Globe Awards kicked off awards season Sunday night with plenty of buzzy moments, and for LGBTQ viewers, the ceremony delivered a handful of standout beats worth celebrating.
Held at the Beverly Hilton and hosted by comedian Nikki Glaser, the 83rd Golden Globes featured queer talent, queer-adjacent projects, and moments that quickly made the rounds online. While the night stayed focused on film and television honors, LGBTQ presence was woven throughout the show, from presenters to punchlines.
One of the most talked-about moments came courtesy of Wanda Sykes. While presenting the award for Best Performance in Stand-Up Comedy on Television, Sykes addressed the absence of winner Ricky Gervais, who took home the Globe for his Netflix special Mortality. From the stage, Sykes said she would accept the award on his behalf by thanking “God and the trans community,” a line that landed immediately with the room and sparked plenty of chatter after the ceremony. The comment was widely noted in coverage, especially given Gervais’s past controversies involving jokes about transgender people.
Another moment that delighted queer audiences came when Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams, stars of the series Heated Rivalry, took the stage as presenters. Their appearance quickly caught attention online, reflecting the show’s strong LGBTQ following and the growing comfort with queer-centered stories occupying space at mainstream awards shows.
Beyond those headline moments, queer visibility showed up in quieter ways, too. LGBTQ performers and creatives appeared throughout the evening as nominees, presenters, and guests, reinforcing how queer talent continues to be part of the industry’s fabric rather than treated as a novelty. On the red carpet, several queer artists and allies also stood out for looks that emphasized personality and self-expression.
A number of celebrities used a subtle but visible accessory to acknowledge the killing of Renee Nicole Good: the “Be Good” pin. Several attendees, including Wanda Sykes and Mark Ruffalo, were photographed on the red carpet wearing the pin, which had been created as part of a campaign in memory of Good, a woman who was shot and killed by an ICE agent in Minneapolis earlier in the week. The pins, along with others that read “ICE Out,” served as a quiet tribute to Good and were noted by entertainment press as one of the more politicized sartorial choices of the night.
Taken together, the Golden Globes offered a snapshot of where LGBTQ visibility sits in pop culture right now: not always center stage, but consistently present, confidently visible, and often at its most memorable when it shows up with humor and ease.
As awards season rolls on, Sunday night’s ceremony made one thing clear: queer moments, big and small, are very much part of the conversation.
