It was actually somewhat of a refreshing change.

The Golden Globes aired Sunday night, and there wasn’t one mention of President Trump. With co-hosts Sandra Oh and Andy Samberg, the award show focused on the winners of various categories, highlighting Jeff Bridges’ career — and the only political moment was a special tongue-in-cheek acknowledgment of Satan.

The Golden Globes is Hollywood’s more laid-back precursor to the Oscars. Though it’s not a fool-proof predictor of who will win at the Oscars and who won’t, the night can offer clues to who might take home the Oscar later. The big upset of the night was “Bohemian Rhapsody” which won accolades over “A Star is Born.” The audience seemed as excited to see Bridges’ career honored as they were to see 30 seconds worth of Taylor Swift (looking fabulous) presenting with Idris Elba (also looking incredible).

Social media made a big deal about the diversity represented. After ribbing her co-host, Oh celebrated the diverse representation award ceremonies in Hollywood had become:



"I said yes to the fear of being on this stage tonight because I wanted to be here and look out onto this audience and witness this moment of change. I’m not fooling myself. Next year could be different and probably will be. But right now, this moment is real."



I assume Oh is referring to the rise of racial diversity in Hollywood productions. In a way, this has always been true, because Hollywood accolades due to merit are increasingly few and far between. Often the worthy actors, films, and songs are snubbed, while others that don’t seem nearly as incredible to the rest of us regular folk win bunches of awards.

This wasn’t the case, however, with one of the night’s winners. Christian Bale won for his role playing Vice President Dick Cheney in “Vice.” One of my favorites, Bale is a method actor, known for his roles in “The Dark Knight,” “The Big Short,” and “American Hustle.” Bale, who is Welsh, holds dual citizenship in the United Kingdom and the U.S. With his distinct Welsh accent, which seemed to take everyone by surprise, he said he wanted to thank Satan for inspiring him in the role. Bale said he was "cornering the market on charisma-free assholes ... What do we think, Mitch McConnell next?" The audience chuckled at the political jab, and it prompted the Church of Satan to respond on Twitter.



To us, Satan is a symbol of pride, liberty and individualism, and it serves as an external metaphorical projection of our highest personal potential. As Mr. Bale's own talent and skill won him the award, this is fitting. Hail Christian! Hail Satan! https://t.co/ILuK8TFZXi — The Church Of Satan (@ChurchofSatan) January 7, 2019

Still, Bale's humorous comment about Cheney struck me as odd, especially since he had just praised Cheney for his intelligence and love of history. Bale has also played one of the most deviant characters of all time: Patrick Batemen, in “American Psycho” (talk about Satanic).

Anyway, there were few political moments at Sunday night’s Golden Globes. That, in and of itself, is worth being thankful for.