Golden Globes: Patricia Arquette Urges Viewers to Vote, Says U.S. Is ‘on the Brink of War’

By Elaine Low

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Patricia Arquette used her time on the Golden Globes stage, after winning best supporting actress in a TV series, to get out the vote.

“I’m so grateful to be here and celebrate this but also I know tonight, Jan. 5, 2020, we’re not going to look back on this [Globes] night in the history books,” said Arquette, who won for Hulu’s “The Act.” “We will see a country on the brink of war, the United States of America, a president tweeting out a threat of 52 bombs including cultural sites, young people risking their lives traveling across the world, people not knowing if bombs are going to drop on their kids’ heads.”

She then urged everyone to vote in 2020, and to encourage others to vote in the upcoming presidential election.

The commentary follows President Trump’s authorized drone strike Friday that killed a top Iranian general, Qassim Suleimani. The controversial move, which sparked an outcry both in the U.S. and Iran and ramped up tensions between the countries, has since prompted Iran to withdraw from a 2015 nuclear deal to limit its uranium enrichment capacity.

As of her win, Arquette was the only person on stage to discuss the conflict.

Globes host Ricky Gervais, anticipating such commentary from the night’s winners, took the opportunity in his opening monologue to take a swipe at politically driven acceptance speeches. 

“Unbelievable — A
pple, Amazon, Disney — i
f ISIS started a streaming
service, you would call your 
agent, wouldn’t you?” joked Gervais. “
So if you do win an award 
tonight, don’t use it as a 
platform to make a political 
speech, right? 
You’re in no position to lecture
the public about anything — you know nothing about the real world.”