Tom Hiddleston criticized for Golden Globes speech on South Sudan

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Tom Hiddleston criticized for Golden Globes speech on South Sudan

AFP

Memes of the audience's reactions go viral on social media

MANILA, Philippines – Tom Hiddleston won his first Golden Globe award on Sunday, January 8, and in his speech, he recounted his trip to South Sudan with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

As he accepted his award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Series, Limited Series, or Motion Picture Made for Television for his work in The Night Manager, Tom thanked the people who worked on the series with him.

He then went on to share a story about his trip: “It’s a terrible situation happening for children [in South Sudan]. The Night Manager is about arms dealing, and there are far too many arms going into South Sudan.”

Tom said that he had been eating at a canteen when a group of young men and women from Médecins Sans Frontières went up to him.

“They wanted to say hello because during the shelling the previous month, they had binge-watched The Night Manager,” said Tom. “And the idea that I could provide ― or that we could provide ― some relief and entertainment for the people who worked for UNICEF and Médecins Sans Frontières and the World Food Program, who are fixing the world in the places where it is broken, made me immensely proud.”

Listen to his full speech below:


 

A civil war broke out in South Sudan in December 2013, when President Salva Kiir accused his former deputy Riek Machar of plotting a coup.

In November 2016, the US sought to impose an arms embargo in the area, after the UN said that the country could descend into genocide.

Drawing flak

Tom’s speech was met with criticism online, as many thought it was self-indulgent or awkward.

Actor Joshua Malina wrote, “Thank you to Tom Hiddleston and all actors who dare to perform in projects that are shown in some of the most dangerous parts of the world.”



Writer Gary Janetti said, “That was a long story Tom Hiddleston told to pay himself a compliment.”


 

During the speech itself, the camera panned to the reactions of some of those in the audience, and Vince Vaughn, Christian Slater, and Naomie Harris’ faces have since been turned into gifs and memes.


The Golden Globes was held on Sunday, January 8 (Monday, January 9 in Manila) in Beverly Hills. The event was hosted by Jimmy Fallon. (FULL LIST: Winners, Golden Globes 2017– Rappler.com

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