The Golden Globes are marketed as Hollywood’s loosest, most social awards night, but the 2026 ceremony still had a noticeable gap in the room: several nominees and a couple of winners did not show up in person.
The 83rd Golden Globes took place on January 11, 2026, at the Beverly Hilton, with Nikki Glaser returning as host, and the night helped kick off the awards season conversation across film and TV.
The biggest story: two winners were not in the building
Michelle Williams won, but missed her moment on stage
Michelle Williams won Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Limited Series, Anthology Series or Motion Picture Made for Television for Dying for Se*, but was not there to accept the trophy.
Presenters Melissa McCarthy and Kathryn Hahn accepted on her behalf, and multiple outlets reported that Williams’ absence was tied to a work commitment in New York, where she is performing in the play Anna Christie in Brooklyn.
Ricky Gervais also won, and he was absent, too
Ricky Gervais won Best Stand-Up Comedy on Television, but he did not attend the ceremony. Wanda Sykes accepted on his behalf during the broadcast. Coverage noted that Sykes referenced the fact that he was not in the room while presenting the category.
Separately, Gervais had spoken publicly about skipping the event, framing it as a long trip and saying he would rather stay home than do the awards circuit.
Notable nominees who skipped the show
Cynthia Erivo
Cynthia Erivo was nominated for Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy) for Wicked: For Good, but she missed the Globes due to a scheduling conflict tied to her stage work in London.
Billy Crudup
Billy Crudup was absent despite a supporting TV nomination for The Morning Show. Reporting said he was on stage in London, which kept him from attending.
Carrie Coon
Carrie Coon, nominated for The White Lotus, also skipped the ceremony. She cited a conflict with her Broadway show, Bug, which prevented her from being there in person.
Other notable faces are missing, for very different reasons
Regina Hall
Regina Hall did not attend because she was not feeling well. During his acceptance, Paul Thomas Anderson gave her a shoutout, noting she could not be there and praising her collaboration on the project.
Bobby Cannavale (not a nominee, but a high-profile absence)
Rose Byrne attended and won, but her partner Bobby Cannavale did not make the trip. Byrne explained his absence was because he was at a reptile expo in New Jersey related to getting a bearded dragon.
Why skipping the Globes is more common than people think
If you expected every nominee to treat the Globes like mandatory attendance, that is not how the industry works. The main drivers are boring but real:
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Stage schedules that cannot pause for a Sunday night in Los Angeles (Williams, Erivo, Coon).
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Touring and personal preference, especially for comedians who do not value awards-room politics (Gervais).
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Health and last-minute issues (Hall).
What matters is this: an absence does not erase the win, but it does change the TV moment. It shifts the spotlight to presenters, stand-ins, and quick explanations, which is exactly what happened with Williams and Gervais.
