(NEWSER) – While Debra Messing and other celebrities brought up gender inequality in Hollywood on the red carpet at the Golden Globes on Sunday, with a particular focus on the pay gap, host Seth Meyers jumped right into the fray on Sunday night—starting with the first line in his opening monologue, per Variety.
«Good evening, ladies and remaining gentlemen,» he greeted the crowd at the Beverly Hills Hilton, telling all the men who were up for the night’s top honors that «this is the first time in three months it won’t be terrifying to hear your name read out loud.» Meyers also touched on «the elephant not in the room,» meaning Harvey Weinstein, who was the impetus behind the entire #MeToo movement, per Vanity Fair. «Don’t worry; he’ll be back in 20 years when he’s the first person booed during the ‘In Memoriam’ [segment],» Meyers riffed.
Also broached by Meyers: President Trump. Meyers first made mention of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the group that votes on the Golden Globes, noting that the first three words of that organization’s name are ones that probably don’t go over well with the commander in chief. In fact, he noted, the only thing that could raise the president’s ire more is if the HFPA were called the «Hillary Mexico Salad Association.»
Meyers also accepted partial blame for spurring Trump to run for president in the first place, since Meyers was the one who hosted the 2011 White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner where Trump is said to have first mulled running. «If that’s true, I just want to say: Oprah, you will never be president. You do not have what it takes!» Meyers joked. «And … where’s [Tom] Hanks? You will never be vice president. You are too mean and unrelatable.»
