This year I was able to watch the Golden Globes as the past two years I’ve been working. Yay! I realised as I was watching from the comfort of my living room in my black hoodie that I was playing spot your mates at the Golden Globes ceremony.

Yes the 75th annual Golden Globes awards have come and gone for another year. While this Blog has done blow-by-blow accounts in recent years by the time this comes out you will have already dissected the ceremony with write ups from the professional teams of writers and photographers covering the event on the ground. (Read: gone are the days when I think writing about them will get my a guernsey to the event, sigh). But that’s not to say I’m not going to give my humble LA opinion!

I do love the Golden Globes. I do love a good Awards show and the Globes of course kick off Awards season.

Actors and activists

I spent a lot of time juggling social media during the awards shows. I hopped on Facebook Live during the Red Carpet–just love the various medium we have to choose from to gawk!

Some of the comments–in this day and age–are still so woeful. People just think they can say whatever they like just because celebrities are in the spotlight and seem to “ask for it”, for people to say whatever they want.

It’s really interesting that popular opinion is divided somewhere down the middle when it comes to actors being activists and whether or not they should have an opinion.

I’m all for actors speaking up, especially the #timesup cause and the #metoo movement. As a mother of a girl–and one that wants to get into the industry–how can I not?

I get that some people take it all a little bit too far. Others aren’t eloquent and others rant and rave (perhaps we could say present company included) so the message might be there but it’s lost in its delivery.

But the reality is if these actors aren’t going to speak up how else are we–the general populace–going to know about these issues and how then can we do anything about it?

Celebrity Presidents

Besides people can’t have it both ways.  You either want celebrities to have their say on issues affecting our society or you don’t.

America cracks me up though.  It’s no bloody wonder Donald Trump is President. If you recall I predicted he would be–not because of anything other than America’s fascination with celebrity.

So to almost fully contradict what I said about actors being great activists, why does an eloquent celebrity automatically get put up on a pedestal to become the next President? The cries here now are Oprah for President hashtagging like crazy and talking like stupid people as if it’s really A THING. Or worse, should be a thing.

Seriously, you should hear the carry on here and the media is running with it.  It’s breaking news–“will she or won’t she; please let’s all hope she does.”

It’s great that anyone can be President. But… If there’s one thing this President should teach us it’s that being recognised doesn’t make us qualified to be President. (Yes I know there’s so many more reasons why this President shouldn’t be president but that’s not my point).

Correct, I’m not one of those people getting on the Oprah for President bandwagon.

And before you jump down my throat, I thought Oprah’s speech was inspiring and she provides a great role model for our girls.  She’s come from humble beginnings (the stuff she said about her mum made me cry) but she achieved extraordinary success.  She beat the odds, she did it.

But don’t you think we need to stop looking to celebrities to become “The President”? Come on guys, let’s help Politicians be better people, get in touch with the people and lead their country to be better.  In order to effect change at the political level you need to have political experience; you need to know how stuff is done; gets done.  It’s one of the reasons Trump is so arguably bad because he thinks he knows it all and doesn’t need to play politics.  You need to understand the law and you need to understand economics.

But wait, there’s a role for Hollywood and a role for someone like Oprah in politics.

Influencers like Oprah can work hard to change society’s beliefs, old-fashioned views and really instill change.  Maybe if she worked together with an inspiring President-to-be together they can deal with the law and popular culture at the same time. What a great combination that could would be.

Woosh-ka.  Hell I’m so inspiring maybe we can get the #gwenforpresident2020 going.

Playing spot your mates

Changing gears back to the Golden Globes.

As I was watching I squealed: there’s my girlfriend from tennis.  Immediately I texted her to say I spotted her and to say she looks very glam, green with envy.  (She texted back from the ceremony to say thank you so I guess in my own little way I was there at one point in time–on a very cool table might I add!)

As another girlfriend and I were texting each other through the ceremony though I started laughing because we were playing “spot your mates”. Instead of watching who was front and centre with the cameras we were looking in the background for people we knew.  Her ex-boyfriend and his husband were there and another client of a friend of mine was there too.  Looking, looking.

You might recall my son was front and centre at the Emmy’s. I love TV and TV stars but the highlight for me was still playing spot the son!

https://www.instagram.com/p/BZMV596gJwv/?taken-by=itstartedinla

I know, it looks like I’ve photoshopped him in doesn’t it? I haven’t!

It’s what living in LA is all about–smack bang in the middle of the Entertainment industry and it’s all good fun.  Remembering this post about how normal people actually can be, it’s still true.  And you may never actually understand unless you live here but I hope this Blog let’s you in on that insight every now and then.

 

Reese Witherspoon to be my BFF

Speaking of playing spot your mates … While everyone was ogling over Oprah, I was on team Reese. (No, that they were on opposing sides just that my girl crush was elsewhere).

I want to be @RWitherspoon ‘s bff

— It Started in LA (@gwennyjohn) January 8, 2018

How gorgeous is she? She pulls everyone together, let’s them do the talking, doesn’t get too serious but is so inspirational.  And she does it all being fabulous and a great role model for her kids. Go her. And congrats to well-deserved Big Little Lies and can’t wait for Season 2 (complete with a new female director to boot).

Back to natural faces

If there’s one thing our hopefully changing society should do it’s go back to natural faces.

I don’t know about you but living here in LA you notice everyone’s really bad faces. These fillers and over botoxing is getting out of hand. Fresh from being in Australia over Christmas the first thing that hits you is the over-worked faces on women here.  I swear the look is not to look young or natural but to look like you’re able to pay for fillers and “work”.

Let’s hashtag no more work. That goes for the blokes too.  Look after yourselves, do what you need to do for a natural look but enough of the out of the control facial distortions.

I think there could be a lot of credibility coming back at you if you start there ladies and gents.

And with that it’s over and out for me this week.

xx It Started in LA xx

 

BTW Image source/credit: Getty / FREDERIC J. BROWN from PopSugar celebrity website