Nikki Glaser attends the 82nd Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., Jan. 5, 2025. (Reuters/Daniel Cole)
The papacy received a shout-out last night at the 82nd annual Golden Globe Awards when host Nikki Glaser performed a remix of "Popular" from "Wicked" with a Catholic twist.
Glaser, first-time host of the star-studded award show, is known for her keen and devastating celebrity roasts. Critics and viewers agree that she knocked it out of the park.
During her red carpet interview with Entertainment Tonight, Glaser said that the topics of her jokes are "something that is probably pretty noticeable about you and it's probably something that's like celebrating you, but with a little dig." She also hinted at what was to come later in the night: "I have a little moment where I'm doing a kind of high stakes performance but I'm really excited about that."
As the evening's festivities went on, Glaser delivered on all of her promises. Though not as pointed as her traditional roasts, she did not hold back from making a comment about as many nominees as possible. No one was off limits in her jokes, including the pope, who also received a bit of production value.
Before introducing two award presenters, Glaser stepped onto the stage in a glamorous pink dress. "There were so many great movies this year, from 'Wicked' to 'Conclave,' " Glaser begins. "Wait, that just gave me an idea." Here she turns around and the lights cut. When the lights kick back on, Glaser faces the camera, fitted with a mitre (bishop's hat) atop her head and a pink glittery staff in hand. "You're gonna love this," she says.
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Glaser proceeded to sing her own Catholic rendition of "Popular."
"You will be pope-ular. You're gonna be pope-ular. I'll teach you some Catholic prayers …" Here Glaser mimes getting cut off by someone speaking to Glaser through an earpiece. "Wait this sucks? This whole thing sucks?" Glaser asks the imaginary earpiece speaker. "I'm embarrassing myself in front of Elton John?" she said, as the camera cut to the "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" singer.
Another standout moment from the evening included a mid-show recap, where Glaser tallied up how many people were thanked in acceptance speeches. By her count, cast and crew had received 11 shout-outs, and moms had received three. "God, creator of the universe, zero mentions," Glaser added. Meanwhile, Mario Lopez, host of Access Hollywood, received one mention. "No surprise in this godless town," she quipped.
"That's it for the first half and we're still nowhere near to picking a new pope. Tedesco's still in the lead with 31 votes. This table gets it," she said, motioning to the table where the "Conclave" cast was seated. Glaser was referencing Cardinal Tedesco, a conservative frontrunner for the papacy in the film.
"Conclave" took home the award for best screenplay, and "Wicked" the award for cinematic box office achievement. Both films are uniquely concerned with telling stories about powerful leaders.
In the spirit of both award-winning films, Glaser issued a comedic, but poignant warning. "You're all so famous, so talented, so powerful." She noted, "I mean you could really do anything, I mean, except tell the country who to vote for. But it's okay, you'll get 'em next time, if there is one. I'm scared."
