(JTA) — “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” about a Jewish housewife in New York City in the late 1950s, won best television series, comedy, at the 2018 Golden Globe awards.
Rachel Brosnahan, the non-Jewish actress who plays the very Jewish Midge Maisel in the Amazon Studios series, took home the best actress award for a television comedy in Sunday’s awards ceremony in Beverly Hills, California.
Creator Amy Sherman-Palladino, who is Jewish, accepted the award for best comedy series.
James Franco won for best actor in a feature comedy for his portrayal of the eccentric director Tommy Wiseau in “The Disaster Artist,” a semi-fictional retelling of the production of Wiseau’s 2003 film “The Room” — popularly known as one of the worst movies ever made. The Jewish actor praised his longtime collaborator Seth Rogen, who had a part in “The Disaster Artist,” and his brother Dave Franco, who co-stars in the film and whom he called “my own Coen brother.”
Jewish actresses such as Gal Gadot, Natalie Portman, Debra Messing and Tracee Ellis Ross joined dozens of other actresses in wearing black to the awards ceremony to take a stand against sexual harassment and gender inequality in Hollywood. The move also promoted the “Time’s Up” initiative spearheaded by several prominent actresses, and supported by hundreds more, to fight sexual harassment, assault and inequality for women in the workplace. The initiative has raised more than $15 million toward a fund for victims in the week since its founding.
Golden Globes host Seth Meyers addressed the issue and in particular disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein in his opening monologue.
“For the male nominees in the room tonight, this is the first time in three months it won’t be terrifying to hear your name read out loud,” Meyers quipped. He noted that Weinstein was not present at the ceremony, adding: “But don’t worry, he’ll be back in 20 years when he becomes the first person ever booed during the In Memoriam.”
Portman, who is also a director, addressed inequality in Hollywood in presenting the award for best director, announcing “Here are the all-male nominees.”
Golden Globe winners are decided by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, a nonprofit organization. At the ceremony, the association announced $2 million in grants to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and the Committee To Protect Journalists.
