The Most Controversial 2023 Golden Globes Snubs

No female directors? Stephanie Hsu left out? No gold for Tom Cruise or 'The Woman King?' Oh no!

When the nominations for the 2023 Golden Globes were announced on Monday, there were definitely some surprises. We saw some exciting unexpected nominations (go Lesley Manville!) but also many hopefuls who seemed almost guaranteed to receive honors who were shockingly absent from the list!

Following a massive controversy that saw networks neglecting to even air the awards ceremony last year, the Golden Globes have done a complete behind-the-scenes overhaul. While these changes have created more diversity, with the racial and ethnic diversity of the membership of the Hollywood Foreign Press bumped to over 51%, the lack of racial and gender diversity when it comes to nominations has led to some notable absences from this year’s nominations.

Here is everything you need to know about the 2023 Golden Globe nomination snubs!

Notable Snub: Films With Black Themes

This year’s nominations were overall more diverse than last year's. However, it’s hard not to notice that movies with Black themes were more often than not overlooked. In a year that included Disney/Marvel’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, TriStar’s The Woman King, Apple Original Films’ Emancipation and Orion’s Till, not a single one of these movies was able to secure a Best Picture nomination.

Till was notably left out of the nominations completely, despite lead actress Danielle Deadwyler recently receiving the Gotham Award for Outstanding Lead Performance, the Critics Choice Association's Celebration of Black Cinema & Television Actress Award for Film, the National Board of Review Breakthrough Performance Award and being named one of Variety's 10 Actors to Watch for 2021.

Related: Your Guide to the 2023 Golden Globe Awards—See the Full List of Nominations

Notable Snub: Female Directors

Yep, that’s right! Despite a seeming turn for the better in recent years with wins by Chloé Zhao for 2020’s Nomadland and Jane Campion for 2021’s The Power of the Dog, no women were nominated for Best Director this year. In addition, no film directed by a woman was even nominated for Best Picture in either category. In fact, Sarah Polley, a notable female directing nomination snub for Women Talking, was the only woman to be nominated for Best Screenplay.

This is especially surprising in a year that saw numerous critically acclaimed female-led frontrunners like Women Talking (Sarah Polley), The Woman King (Gina Prince-Bythewood) and Till (Chinonye Chukwu). Do better, Golden Globes!

Notable Snub: Stephanie Hsu for Everything Everywhere All at Once

We were extremely excited to see Everything Everywhere All at Once receive multiple nominations, including much-deserved acting noms for lead Michelle Yeoh and comeback kid Ke Huy Quan. But Stephanie Hsu’s name was shockingly absent from the list of nominations for her complex and emotional performance as their daughter Joy. In Hsu’s place was a nomination for costar Jamie Lee Curtis, which surprised many of the film’s fans considering the heavy lifting Hsu’s performance carries in the movie. This is in line with the Globes’ tendency to reward big names over lesser-known talents, but is disappointing nonetheless.

Related: Everything You Need To Know About the 2023 Oscars, Including the New Host

Notable Snub: Yellowjackets

As one of the biggest and most critically acclaimed shows of the year, it’s very surprising to see the complete lack of love for Yellowjackets at the Golden Globes— especially given the show’s nominations at the Emmys for Outstanding Drama and lead actress Melanie Lynsky. Haven’t these girls been through enough?!

Notable Snub: Tom Cruise

One of the most successful and talked about films of the year was Top Gun: Maverick, so many movie fans expected lead actor Tom Cruise to be a shoo-in for a nomination for his return as Maverick. While the film itself landed two nominations, one for Best Picture and one for Best Song, Cruise’s absence was definitely surprising. Could this be retribution for the actor famously returning his Golden Globes at the height of the award show’s 2021 controversy?

Notable Snub: Steve Carell

While Steve Carell’s The Patient costar, Domhnall Gleeson, received a supporting actor nomination for his performance in the miniseries, Carell’s name was shockingly left out. As Carell shared the screen with Gleeson for pretty much all of his scenes, it’s surprising Carell wasn’t given any award show love. Carell’s phenomenal lead actor performance carries the miniseries, so a nomination for him was thought of as a given!

Related: Find Out All of the 2022 Golden Globes Winners—And Why You Didn't See the Ceremony on TV

Notable Snub: Toni Collette

With a nomination for her The Staircase costar Colin Firth, but none for Toni Collette, we have to wonder if the Globes are just more likely to nominate those playing murderers (or in this case, suspected murderers) than their counterparts (see: Steve Carell above).

Notable snub: Jennifer Lawrence

Many assumed that Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence would be welcomed back into the awards season fold for her performance in Causeway, a return to her dramatic roots after years of franchise work and action roles, but she was shut out of the 2023 Golden Globes.

Notable Snub: Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

While it may have been a bit of a long shot to land some nominations, given the Globes’ embrace of the Peter Jackson films there was some hope that Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power would earn some honors. In fact, Amazon Prime Video was left out of the nominations entirely with the exception of the Non-English Language Best Picture nomination for Argentina 1985. This includes former Golden Globes darling The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel!

Notable Snubs: What We Do in the Shadows and Reservation Dogs

Two of the best series on television failed to receive any nominations. Both What We Do in the Shadows and Reservation Dogs are critical darlings with strong fanbases, so some recognition at the Golden Globes was expected!

Notable Snub: Meghann Fahy for The White Lotus

While her White Lotus co-stars Jennifer Coolidge and Aubrey Plaza were shown some Golden Globes attention, arguably the breakout performer of the second season, Meghann Fahy, was not. This is most likely another example of the Globes’ pattern of rewarding name recognition over new talent.

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