Oprah Winfrey may not be running for president — yet — but on Sunday, it felt like she was kicking off her campaign.
Accepting the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the 75th Golden Globes on a night focused on sexual harassment within the entertainment business, the talk show guru brought the crowd of black-clad celebrities to their feet with a rousing speech about the power of speaking out against abuse and injustice.
Even before she took the stage, Winfrey was the center of attention. In his opening monologue, host Seth Meyers joked about his hope that she’d run for president (with Tom Hanks as her vice presidential running mate). Award winners Sterling K. Brown of “This Is Us” and Rachel Brosnahan of “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” both gave Winfrey shout-outs in their acceptance speeches.
“I want all of the girls watching here now to know, that a new day is on the horizon.” @Oprah accepts the 2018 Cecil B. de Mille award. #GoldenGlobes pic.twitter.com/hbquC1GBjm
— Golden Globe Awards (@goldenglobes) January 8, 2018
GOLDEN GLOBES 2018: Full coverage | Winners | Red carpet photos
Winfrey was introduced by Reese Witherspoon, her costar in Disney’s upcoming “A Wrinkle in Time.” A montage highlighted not only Winfrey’s influential 25-year run as host of “The Oprah Winfrey Show” but her accomplishments as an Oscar-nominated actress and producer of films and television series such as “Precious,” “The Great Debaters” and “Queen Sugar.”
“Thank you for the grace, the wisdom,” Witherspoon said. “You’ve changed our lives.”
The first black woman to be honored with the Cecil B. DeMille Award, Winfrey began her speech by recalling the impact of watching Sidney Poitier win a lead actor Oscar in 1964 for “Lilies of the Field.”“In 1982, Sidney received the Cecil B. DeMille Award right here at the Golden Globes, and it is not lost on me that at this moment there are some little girls watching as I become the first black woman to be given the same award,” she said.
After a nod to the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn. and the role of journalists in a fraught time, Winfrey turned to the subject that has dominated Hollywood for months: sexual harassment and abuse.
“Each of us in this room are celebrated because of the stories we tell, and this year we became the story,” she said. “But it’s not just a story affecting the entertainment industry.”
Winfrey, a sexual abuse survivor, expressed gratitude to “the women whose names we’ll never know” working in other, less glamorous industries who “endured years of abuse because they, like my mother, had children to feed.”
She cited the story of Recy Taylor, a black woman who in 1944 was gang-raped by six white men in Alabama. Taylor died Dec. 28.
MORE: Read the full transcript of Oprah Winfrey’s speech that fired up the Golden Globes »
Graham Broadbent, producer of "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” accepts the award for motion picture - drama at the 75th Golden Globe Awards on Sunday.
(Paul Drinkwater / NBC)“Lady Bird” director Greta Gerwig accepts the award for motion picture - musical or comedy at the 75th Golden Globe Awards.
(Paul Drinkwater / NBC)Oprah Winfrey, recipient of the Cecil B. Demille Award, delivers a powerful speech at the 75th Golden Globe Awards on Sunday.
(Paul Drinkwater / NBC)The Golden Globes audience stands at attention for Oprah Winfrey, recipient of the Cecil B. Demille Award.
(Paul Drinkwater / NBC)Natalie Portman and Ron Howard present the director nominees, or as Portman pointedly put it: “Here are the all-male nominees.”
(Paul Drinkwater / NBC)“The Shape of Water” director Guillermo del Toro made sure his speech counted at the 75th Golden Globe Awards.
(Paul Drinkwater / NBC)In a “Harry Potter” reunion, Emma Watson and Robert Pattinson present an award at the 75th Golden Globe Awards.
(Paul Drinkwater / NBC)With the cast and crew from “Big Little Lies” alongside her, Reese Witherspoon accepts the Golden Globe for television limited series.
(Paul Drinkwater / NBC)I, Tonya actress Allison Janney wins the Golden Globe for performance by an actress in a supporting role in a motion picture.
(Paul Drinkwater/NBC)Presenters Jessica Chastain and Chris Hemsworth.
(Paul Drinkwater / NBC)“Lady Bird’s” Saoirse Ronan wins the award for actress in a motion picture musical or comedy.
(Paul Drinkwater / NBC)Presenter Salma Hayek Pinault
(Paul Drinkwater / NBC)Alicia Vikander and Michael Keaton
(Paul Drinkwater / NBC)“Thelma & Louise” duo Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon reunite as presenters at the 75th Golden Globe Awards.
(Paul Drinkwater / NBC)“Darkest Hour’s” Gary Oldman accepts the award for actor in a motion picture - drama.
(Paul Drinkwater / NBC)Isabelle Huppert, from left, and Angelina Jolie present at the 75th Golden Globe Awards.
(Paul Drinkwater / NBC)Frances McDormand delivers a powerful speech in accepting the actress award for "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.”
(Paul Drinkwater / NBC)Presenter Barbra Streisand issues a call for more women directors to be nominated.
(Paul Drinkwater / NBC)Aziz Ansari, winner of the Golden Globe for performance by an actor in a television series comedy, accepts his trophy.
(Paul Drinkwater/NBC)Emilia Clarke and Kit Harrington present at the 75th Golden Globe Awards.
(Paul Drinkwater/NBC)Amy Sherman-Palladino, creator of “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” accepts the award for television series musical or comedy.
(Paul Drinkwater/NBC)Halle Berry
(Paul Drinkwater/NBC)Edgar Ramirez, Penelope Cruz, Ricky Martin and Darren Criss
(Paul Drinkwater/NBC)Hugh Grant
(Paul Drinkwater/NBC)Winner of the screenplay motion picture Golden Globe, Martin McDonagh, writer of “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” accepts his award.
(Paul Drinkwater/NBC)Kirk Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones
(Paul Drinkwater/NBC)“Coco” director and producer Lee Unkrich accepts the award for animated film.
(Paul Drinkwater/NBC)Presenters Sebastian Stan and Allison Janney
(Paul Drinkwater/NBC)“Big Little Lies” actress Laura Dern wins for actress in a supporting role in a series, limited series or motion picture made for television at the 75th Golden Globe Awards.
(Paul Drinkwater/NBC)Tommy Wiseau, left, James Franco, winner of actor in a motion picture musical or comedy for “The Disaster Artist,” and Dave Franco at the 75th Golden Globe Awards.
(Paul Drinkwater/NBC)Kerry Washington and Garrett Hedlund
(Paul Drinkwater/NBC)Bruce Miller, producer-writer of “The Handmaids Tale” on Hulu, accepts the award for television series drama at the 75th Golden Globe Awards.
(Paul Drinkwater/NBC)Christina Hendricks and Neil Patrick Harris
(Paul Drinkwater/NBC)Meher Tatna, HFPA president, at the 75th Golden Globe Awards
(Paul Drinkwater/NBC)Presenter Seth Rogen
(Paul Drinkwater/NBC)Roseanne Barr and John Goodman
(Paul Drinkwater/NBC)“Big Little Lies” actor Alexander Skarsgard wins the award for actor in a supporting role in a series, limited series or motion picture made for television.
(Paul Drinkwater/NBC)Mariah Carey and Common present an award at the 75th Golden Globe Awards.
(Paul Drinkwater/NBC)Elisabeth Moss wins the Golden Globe for best actress in a TV drama for “The Handmaid’s Tale.”
(Paul Drinkwater / NBC)“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” indeed. Rachel Brosnahan wins best TV comedy actress.
(Paul Drinkwater/NBC)Presenters Carol Burnett and Jennifer Aniston bond at the 75th Golden Globe Awards.
(Paul Drinkwater / NBC)“The Greatest Showman’s” Zac Efron presents a Golden Globe award.
(Paul Drinkwater / NBC)Sam Rockwell wins a Golden Globe supporting actor-motion picture award for "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.”
(Paul Drinkwater / NBC)Oscar and Golden Globe winners Helen Mirren and Viola Davis present an award at the Golden Globes.
(Paul Drinkwater / NBC)Nicole Kidman wins the Golden Globe for best actress in a limited series for "Big Little Lies.”
(Paul Drinkwater / NBC)Dwayne Johnson and Gal Gadot present an award at the Golden Globes.
(Paul Drinkwater / NBC)After host Seth Meyers talks up “The Post” and its cast at the Golden Globes, he shoos away a presenter with an armful of awards.
(Paul Drinkwater / NBC)Seth Meyers takes on the hosting duties at the 75th Golden Globe Awards on Sunday at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.
(Paul Drinkwater / NBC)MORE: Who was Recy Taylor? Oprah Winfrey tells why she mentioned her »
“She lived as we all have lived, too many years in a culture broken by brutally powerful men,” said Winfrey. “For too long, women have not been heard or believed if they dare speak the truth to the power of those men. But their time is up.”
As the celebrities in the room rose to give her a standing ovation, Winfrey closed with a message for “all the girls watching here,” telling them “a new day is on the horizon” and expressing hope for a time “when nobody ever has to say ‘me too’ again.”
After her speech, Winfrey greeted Tarana Burke, the activist who founded the #MeToo movement, with a hug. Burke, who used Winfrey’s messages in workshops, later called it a “full-circle moment.”
“It meant so much to me. I don’t even want her for the presidency. I just want to create something new for her,” Burke said.
Stedman Graham, Winfrey’s longtime partner, hinted that Winfrey might be up for a run at the White House. “It’s up to the people,” he told The Times. “She would absolutely do it.”
The reaction from celebrities on social media, where the hashtag #Oprah2020 was soon trending, and in the room at the Beverly Hilton suggested that Winfrey may be a formidable candidate. But trying out a run at the White House wasn’t her goal for the night.
“I’m just glad I got through the speech,” Winfrey told The Times. “I thought a lot about it. I wanted this to be a meaningful moment.”
Times staff writers Amy Kaufman and Jen Yamato contributed to this report.
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