Judd Apatow’s Decade-Long Golden Globes Snub Explained
Judd Apatow finally broke his silence on why he quietly avoided the Golden Globes for ten years. His dry humour and candid remarks at this year’s ceremony left punters buzzing. Find out what sparked his long-running boycott.
Judd Apatow, a familiar face in comedy, kept his distance from the Golden Globes for a solid decade. This year, though, he decided to let everyone in on the reason, dropping a few dry jokes while presenting the Best Director award. The director, known for his sharp wit, didn’t hold back as he addressed the crowd, revealing the story behind his quiet protest.
Why Apatow Gave the Golden Globes the Cold Shoulder
While handing out the Best Director gong, Apatow admitted he’d been steering clear of the ceremony for about ten years. He quipped,
Because I’ve been boycotting the ceremony for about 10 years. A very quiet boycott, no one seems to have noticed. We’ve had beef ever since my film ‘Trainwreck’ lost best comedy to Ridley Scott’s ‘The Martian.’
Both films hit screens in 2015, but it was Ridley Scott’s space adventure that nabbed the comedy award, despite being a sci-fi flick. The win raised eyebrows, with many questioning how a survival story set on Mars could be classed as a comedy.
Apatow couldn’t resist poking fun at the situation, saying,
You know, Ridley Scott. America’s favourite comedy director. Director of such hilarious comedies as Gladiator, Blade Runner, and Alien. I can’t wait till later tonight when Best Comedy is won by Hamnet.
He kept the banter going, referencing Chloé Zhao’s emotional play and taking the mickey out of the awards’ sometimes odd genre choices.
Making Peace and Moving On
Before handing over the award, Apatow threw in a cheeky comment about the state of the country, then circled back to his long-standing gripe about The Martian’s win. He said,
We’ve had COVID. I believe we’re a dictatorship now. And I’m still pretty focused on this Martian thing. I gotta be honest with you.
But in a rare moment of goodwill, he decided it was time to let bygones be bygones, announcing,
As an example to inspire America, I’m going to squash that beef and start the healing right now.
With that, he put the old rivalry to bed and handed the award to Paul Thomas Anderson for One Battle After Another.
The whole episode highlighted just how blurry the line between comedy and drama can be. The Martian, while packed with tense moments, did have its fair share of laughs—mostly thanks to Matt Damon’s character’s dry humour and dislike of disco tunes.
The Martian’s Comedy Win and the Rule Change
Back in 2016, the awards season was stacked with heavy dramas like The Revenant, Spotlight, and Mad Max: Fury Road. The Martian, though a survival thriller, was entered in the Musical/Comedy category, a move some called “category fraud” but others saw as clever strategy. Studios at the time could pick which category to submit their films to, and with less competition in comedy, The Martian’s team took their shot.
The gamble paid off, with both Matt Damon and the film itself taking home Golden Globes. Apatow wasn’t impressed, and his reaction was so strong that the organisers changed the rules the following year. The new guideline, often dubbed The Martian Rule, stated that
dramas with comedic overtones should be entered as dramas
to avoid similar controversies in future.
For those keen on the details, The Martian was directed by Ridley Scott and starred Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, and Kristen Wiig. It hit cinemas in October 2015, scored an 8/10 on IMDb, and raked in $630 million worldwide. The film was produced by Scott Free Productions and is currently available to stream on Fubo.