Michaela “MJ” Rodriguez Takes Historic Win at Golden Globes

POSE actress Michaela Jae Rodriguez made history tonight as the first trans actress honored by the Hollywood Foreign Press.

In the category of Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series- Drama, the powerhouse actress took the top honor against veteran thespians Jennifer Aniston, Christine Baranski, Elisabeth Moss and Uzo Aduba for her role as Blanca in the acclaimed FX series POSE, which aired it’s final season last year.

The nod makes Rodriguez the first transgender actress throughout the awards show 77 years to earn the nomination and take home the coveted statuette.

Unfortunately, the evenings milestone win also marks the first time an award winner was not able to offer an acceptance speech to viewers and peers, as last month the Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced the event would be private, with award winners released only via their website.

In previous years, the ceremony had aired on national television via NBC to as many as 26 million viewers. Last year, NBC broke from tradition due to a boycott of the ceremony arising from growing tensions over diversity lacking amongst the 90 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press membership, none of whom were black. The members are also the voting body of the Golden Globes Awards system, and had failed to adequately address or even include black representation within its organization once the controversy had come to light two years ago.

In 2021, at the height of the covid pandemic, the 78th annual ceremony went to great lengths to still find its way into living rooms. From two different cities before a small, celebrity-free audience consisting instead of first responders, hosts Tina Fey and Amy Pohler poked fun at the lack of diversity during their opening monologue.

“Since you guys aren’t usually here, let us explain what this even is. The Golden Globes are awards given out by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association,” Pohler began. Fey added “The Hollywood Foreign Press Association is made up of around 90 international no-black journalists who attend movie junkets each year in search of a better life.”

From the stage of the Golden Globes last year, Pohler and Fey eviscerated the HFPA again and again. “This…