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Why was ‘I May Destroy You’ snubbed at Golden Globes 2021? How angry fans trolled ‘Emily in Paris’ nomination

Netizens feel 'snubbed by the actual globe', say nominations are a clear statement of the stories we are ready to hear and those we aren't

Nominations for the 78th Golden Globe Awards have been announced and it led to both — smiling and frowny faces. Among the top contenders are ‘The Trial of the Chicago 7’, ‘Mank’ and ‘The Prom’ along with the posthumous Chadwick Boseman’s nomination for ‘Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom’. 

Although many fans joyfully tweeted about the nods, there was much dissatisfaction among other filmmakers and viewers after the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) lined up a contentious list of snubs, baffling many. 

Rolled out on Wednesday, February 3, via live stream by Sarah Jessica-Parker and Taraji P Henson, the list also included some big, deserving names like Glenn Close and Jodie Foster but left a glaring bunch of others out — either completely, or from the categories, they deserved to be in.

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Here are all the snubs and why fans seem to be disappointed on the Internet — the biggest one being for HBO's ‘I May Destroy You’ and its creator Michaela Coel.

Why wasn't ‘I May Destroy You’ nominated?

Michaela Coel's masterpiece, ‘I May Destroy You’, is a skillfully constructed story that takes the complicated issue of rape and infuses it with heart, humor and pathos. Fans were incredibly disappointed with its absence from the roster of nominees this year, understandably creating an uproar among viewers.

Coel, a British-born Black woman, created, wrote, directed and starred in the series and the show ticked all the right boxes. In fact, viewers were floored by the storyline and thought it to be downright brilliant. Its absence from the list created much uproar, with Dylan O'Brien tweeting, “Golden Globes are laughable. Not only is I May Destroy You absolutely fucking brilliant, it should be required viewing. Apparently, you can be TOO far ahead of humanity @MichaelaCoel we don’t deserve you.”

Needless to say, Twitter was pumped up through the day, calling out the infamous snubs, especially that of Coel's show, and wondering why this year’s nominations were worse than usual. 

‘Outlander’ out, ‘Emily in Paris’ in

Starz’s ‘Outlander' was snubbed for a second time after 2019. Despite receiving many nominations, the fan-favorite show missed out on bids for Best Drama Series. Caitriona Balfe was nominated for Best Drama Actress and Sam Heughan for Best Drama Actor. However, there’s no reason to read too much into the snubs.

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association is reportedly notorious for rewarding only the newest shows, and the romance epic ‘Outlander' has been around for a couple of years now, notes Gold Derby. In fact, the only shows older than four seasons to be nominated this year are Pop’s ‘Schitt’s Creek’ and AMC’s ‘Better Call Saul'.

Questionable nominations

Many Twitter users noted that several nominations seemed "very questionable". One joked, "Why stop there? Give Emily in Paris the Nobel Peace Prize." ‘Ratched’ got three nominations but left many wondering why it got a nomination for Best Drama Series, and why Sophie Okenedo's stellar performance of a woman with five unique personas was robbed of a nomination.

"The next time you're overcome by imposter syndrome just take a deep breath and remember that 'Emily in Paris' got nominated for a Golden Globe," one Twitter user said. Spectacular theatre adaptations like ‘American Utopia’, ‘Black Bottom’ and ‘One Night in Miami’ got passed over for top honors, especially with ‘The Prom’ starring James Corden as an offensively flamboyant gay character (who was slammed after the movie released). 

“Lily Collins & 'Emily in Paris' are nominated for Golden Globes while Michaela Coel & 'I May Destroy You' are not. It is not a mistake. It is not a snub. It is the way the system works. It was never about the art. Can we end award shows now #FuckOffGoldenGlobes et al," noted a Twitter user. Fans were up in arms over the HBO show. "No nods for I MAY DESTROY YOU? Well, I may destroy the Hollywood foreign press association how bout that," one said and another posted, "I too feel snubbed but not by the Golden Globes .. more the actual Globe."

A ray of hope

There has been a ray of hope, however, in the form of three women — Chloé Zhao for 'Nomadland', Regina King for 'One Night in Miami' and Emerald Fennell for 'Promising Young Woman' — who got nods for Best Director this year, a category that has never seen women filmmakers make it to such an extent. 

But the lack of representation clearly comes through as neither Coel nor her series feature anywhere on this year's list, prompting netizens to question what kind of stories we, as viewers, are ready for. "Whether you loved Promising Young Woman or not, it is telling that it is sweeping awards season, while I May Destroy You has been completely ignored. It's a clear statement about which stories we are ready to hear and which ones we continue to ignore. #imaydestroyyou," one Twitter user said. "Golden Globes nominations are out ... 3 women directors make the cut ... but Michaela Cole's 'I may destroy you' totes snubbed and no reasons given... #survivor," another posted.

"You know I wish i could say Michaela Coel getting snubbed was surprising but I’ve seen this kinda thing happen too many times. fuck the golden globes and the Oscars and the grammies and everything else," said a netizen. "No it’s actually CRIMINAL to not recognize Michaela Coel for what she did, not just w trauma or sexual assault or consent, but w friendship and art and power and healing! I May Destroy You was an artist executing a singular vision, pure and focused #GoldenGlobes," said another.

‘Bridgerton’, ‘Da 5 Bloods’ and ‘Minari’ snubs

Among other notable snubs this year included Netflix's Regency era show 'Bridgerton', Vietnam war drama 'Da 5 Bloods', and 'Minari' for Best Film (although it did make it to Best Foreign Language). Steven Yeun and Youn Yuh-jung, who had critically acclaimed performances in the Korean film, were not considered.

Tweets like "Who needs the Golden Globes when we can watch on endless loop @regejean unbuttoning his cuffs and licking spoons and grinning while dancing and shaking our world with a barely discernable lift to his brows. The Bridgerton snub means nothing to us," and "I hope Steven Yeun, Youn Yuh-jung, Han Yeri and Alan Kim's snubs get enough reactions and outrage to get people to actually watch Minari which is the most important thing. After that the performances speak for themselves anyway."

There were, of course, some hilarious tweets as Netizens wondered why Christopher Nolan ('Tenet') and Meryl Streep ('Let Them All Talk', 'The Prom') were also snubbed.