Will Smith and MJ Rodriguez Make History at the Golden Globes

The 2022 Golden Globes was a ceremony was like no other. For the first time ever, the best actress award went to a transgender actor.

Michaela Jaé “MJ” Rodriguez earned her Best Actress Globe for her groundbreaking role as Blanca Evangelista in the hit FX series, Pose, a show depicting the gay New York ballroom culture of the 1980s. The top honor of Best Actor went to Will Smith for his role in “King Richard.” Smith portrayed the determined father and mentor of tennis superstars Venus and Serena Williams. The biopic was nominated for best motion picture drama.

Will Smith and Michaela Jaé Rodriguez took home their first Golden Globe Awards Sunday night, and Rodriguez made history as the first transgender actor to win one. 

Last night’s Golden Globes ceremony was historic for several reasons. Given the ongoing surge in coronavirus cases due to the highly transmissible omicron variant, as well as ethical issues and controversy surrounding the lack of Blacks in the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), which presents the awards, the 2022 ceremony was not televised. 

While there were very few celebrity appearances, and most of those were via video, many 2022 Golden Globe winners marked their victories via social media — including Rodriguez, who

celebrated with fans on Instagram.

“Thank you! This is the door that is going to open the door for many more young talented individuals,” she wrote. “They will see that it is more than possible. They will see that a young Black Latina girl from Newark, New Jersey who had a dream, to change the minds others would WITH LOVE.“

West Side Story took the award for best musical or comedy motion picture, and Ariana DeBose won for best supporting actress for her role as Anita in the Steven Spielberg-directed musical remake.

Instead of the traditional lavish awards night, a small cache of HFPA members announced the winners from a ballroom at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, according to The New York Times. 

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association approved a wide-ranging proposal to radically change its board last spring.The HFPA has since diversified its membership and updated its bylaws, per

Variety. As noted in The Hollywood Reporter, 21 new members — including six African Americans — were added to its membership in October.