‘A New Day On The Horizon'

Led by Oprah Winfrey, Hollywood’s women made a powerful statement against sexual abuse at the Golden Globe awards recently.

- Kirstin Buick

A SEA of black ebbed and flowed down the red carpet in a ceremony that looked more like the world’s most dazzling funeral procession than one of Hollywood’s most glamorous nights of the year.

But the mood at the 2018 Golden Globe awards was by no means sombre. It was, instead, triumphant.

Hollywood’s most powerful women joined forces in a black-drenched effort to make more than a gimmicky statement. It signalled the dawn of a new era – and unsurprisingly, Oprah Winfrey led the charge.

Dressed head-to-toe in black in a simple, elegant velvet gown, the TV and business mogul (63) stepped on stage to thunderous applause to accept the Cecil B DeMille Award for lifetime achievement – the first ever black woman to do so.

Her speech, which had many in tears and on their feet, was the highlight of the event.

“For too long, women haven’t been heard or believed if they dare speak the truth to the power of those men,” she said, her powerful voice rich with emotion. “But their time is up. Their time is up.”

She took it beyond the glitz and glamour of Tinseltown. “But it’s not just a story affecting the entertainment industry. It’s one that transcends any culture, geography, race, religion, politics or workplace.

“So I want tonight to express gratitude to all the women who’ve endured years of abuse and assault because they, like my mother, had children to feed and bills to pay and dreams to pursue. They’re the women whose names we’ll never know.”

Plenty among the audience wept at her words as she continued. “I want all the girls watching here to know that a new day is on the horizon.