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Michelle Yeoh Calls Out Last Year’s Massive Golden Globes Mistake During Live Telecast

The mistake received a lot of backlash online

Michelle Yeoh and Naomi Watts 2024 Golden Globes CAT2
Rich Polk/Golden Globes 2024/Golden Globes 2024 via Getty Images

We still haven’t forgotten the biggest mistake the Golden Globes made during last year’s ceremony, and apparently, actress Michelle Yeoh hasn’t either.

Last night, Yeoh, 61, and Naomi Watts, 55, took center stage to present the nominees for the ​​Best Female Actor in a Motion Picture Musical/Comedy category at the 81st annual Golden Globe Awards. The Everything Everywhere All at Once star started her presenter speech by calling out the Golden Globes’ 2023 mistake, which involved pianist Chloe Flower

“I know last year, I threatened to beat up the piano player if they tried to play me off my acceptance speech,” Yeoh said onstage. And before she could get another word in, a soft melody started to play, which got a side eye from the actress. She added, “You will be happy to know that I’m very chill this year.”

In case you forgot, Yeoh took home the award last year for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Musical/Comedy for her powerful performance in Everything Everywhere All at Once. In the middle of her acceptance speech, the actress jokingly told the pianist to “shut up” after music attempted to cut her acceptance speech short. “I can beat you up,” she said at the time.

For the ceremony last year, 38-year-old composer Flower was responsible for playing the piano during the show’s intermission segments. However, this soon garnered backlash on social media, as some high-profile winners, including Yeoh and Austin Butler, believed Flower was cutting their speech short and the “play-off” music signaled for them to make a swift exit from the stage.

Flower went on X (formerly known as Twitter) and clarified that the play-off music was actually pre-recorded and controlled by producers in a tweet, which read: “I would never play piano over people’s speeches!! I’m only playing when you see me on camera! #goldenglobes.”

It seems the Golden Globes took heed of the online backlash (as well as the award winner’s remarks) because there was no awkward piano playing during the show’s breaks or acceptance speeches this year. We’re just glad Yeoh is ready to laugh about the situation.

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Assistant Editor, News And Entertainment

  • Covers all things news and entertainment
  • Has over 5+ years of reporting on celebrity news and pop culture
  • Studied Journalism at Brooklyn College