Sandra Oh gives emotional speech during Golden Globes monologue: 'A moment of change'

She is the first Asian American actress to host the ceremony

Following a speech filled with jokes, Sandra Oh took a moment to be serious during her opening monologue alongside Andy Samberg at the 2019 Golden Globes.

Pointing out the increase in racial and gender representation at this year’s awards, the actor, who won the Golden Globe for Best Actress – TV Drama for Killing Eve, told the crowd that she said yes to hosting despite her “fear” because she wanted to “witness this moment of change”.

“I said yes to the fear of being on this stage tonight to look out onto this audience and witness this moment of change,” Oh said. “And I’m not fooling myself. I’m not fooling myself, next year could be different, but right now this moment is real. Trust me, it’s real. Because I see you and I see you, all these faces of changes. And now, so will everyone else.”

In addition to having the first Asian American host in Globes history, this year’s awards include nominations for films such as Black Panther, Crazy Rich Asians, and If Beale Street Could Talk.

The speech resonated with viewers, who praised Oh on Twitter for acknowledging the importance of diversity in Hollywood.

“Sandra Oh made me cry with this,” one person tweeted.

Ahead of the awards show, Oh posted an Instagram photo of her family celebrating her hosting role, in which they wore black shirts that read: “It’s an honour just to be Asian – Sandra Oh” – a quote taken from the 2018 Emmy Awards, where Oh was the first actress of Asian descent to be nominated for Best Actress.

Oh captioned the photo: “Thank you beloved family.”

And during her acceptance speech for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series ― Drama, Oh took a moment to thank her parents, before addressing them in Korean.