With celebrities at home because of the covid-19 pandemic, the ceremony took place virtually between Los Angeles and New York, and the presenters did not ignore the controversy. "There is a lot of flashy garbage that is named," said comedian Amy Poehler, who again teamed up with Tina Fey at the presentation of the ceremony. "Everyone is understandably upset by the HFPA and its choices," said Poehler, referring to criticisms directed at the Foreign Press Association in Hollywood, which is responsible for the Golden Globes, for ignoring relevant works written in the last year, done or carried out by African Americans. "We all know that the award ceremonies are stupid," added Tina Fey. "The point is that, even with stupid things, inclusion is important and there are no blacks among the members of the Foreign Critic's Association in Hollywood," she said, urging the organisation to make changes.

Criticisms of HFPA include the lack of nominations for the HBO series "I may destroy you" and "Insecure" and for Spike Lee's "5 Bloods". Other films considered potential Oscar candidates, such as "Ma Rainey: The mother of the blues", by George C. Wolfe, "One Night in Miami" and "Judas and the Black Messiah", were absent from the most desirable categories, such as Best Picture. The biggest awards of the night were for "Nomadland - Survive in America", with director Chloé Zhao becoming the first woman of Asian origin to obtain the Golden Globe for Best Director, in a film that was also considered the Best Drama. "Borat 2" won the Best Picture in the Comedy or Musical category and Sacha Baron Cohen won the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a comedy or musical. The African American winners at the event: Andra Day, Best Actress in Drama for "The United States vs. Billie Holiday", Daniel Kaluuya, Best Supporting Actor in a film for "Judas and the Black Messiah", John Boyega, Best Secondary Actor in Television for "Small Ax", and Chadwick Boseman, who died in 2020, who won a posthumous award for Best Actor in Drama for the film "Ma Rainey: The mother of the blues".

The HFPA, which in recent weeks has been the subject of controversy, following an investigation by the LA Times, questioning the association's relevance and credibility and revealing that there are members of the association receiving high salaries, committed during the ceremony to improve diversity among its members. This message was extended by Jane Fonda, who received the Cecil B. deMille career award and highlighted in her speech of thanks the importance of the diversity of stories told by Hollywood. "There is a story that we have been afraid to see and hear about us in this industry. A story about which voices we respect and raise and which ones we turn off," said the actress. "We are all going to make an effort to expand the 'tent', so that everyone is elevated and their stories have the opportunity to be seen and heard", he appealed, saying that art not only goes hand in hand with history but also has led. Fonda's speech was one of the few with political messages, in an event where the winners focused on smiles, tears and profuse thanks.

In terms of television, the Netflix series "The Queen's Gambit" stood out, which won the award for Best Miniseries and gave Anya Taylor-Joy the award for Best Actress; and "The Crown", winner of four Golden Globes, including for Best Drama Series. The series on the life of the British royal family also won the award for Best Actress in a Drama Series (Emma Corrin), Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (Gillian Anderson) and Best Actor in a Drama Series (Josh O'Connor). Jodie Foster won in the category of best secondary actress, for the film "The Mauritanian", and Rosamund Pike took the statuette of Best Actress in a comedy or musical for "I Care a Lot". Aaron Sorkin won the Best Screenplay award with "The 7 of Chicago", while Pixar's "Soul" won the award for Best Animated Feature Film. The Best Comedy Series was "Schitt's Creek", which also gave Catherine O'Hara the award for Best Actress in a comedy or musical series. "Ted Lasso" gave Apple a victory, with the Best Actor in a comedy or musical series for Jason Sudeikis, and "I know this much is true" crowned Mark Ruffalo with Best Actor in a miniseries.