Culture

You Need To Watch Michelle Williams’ Moving Golden Globes Speech On A Women’s Right To Choose

"Women, 18 to 118, when it is time to vote, please vote in your own self interest. It's what men have been doing for years, which is why the world looks so much like them."

by Jared Richards  6 January 2020
Michelle Williams

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Michelle Williams has used her Golden Globes acceptance speech to share her own story of choosing when and how to have children, ending with an impassioned plea for US women to vote for their rights.

Williams won a Golden Globe tonight for Best Actress in a ini-series or motion picture for TV, off her role in F/X series Fosse/Verdon. Accepting the award, she gave a pointed speech that saw tears from Busy Phillips and loud cheers of approval from presented Tiffany Haddish — a current Republican push to reverse the historic 1973 Supreme Court Roe v Wade decision could see abortion rights heavily restricted across America.

In her speech, a visibly pregnant Williams insinuated she has had an abortion in her life, and was grateful for the ability to choose when to have her children.

“When you put this in someone’s hands you acknowledge the choices they make as an actor — moment by moment, scene by scene, day by day — but you’re also acknowledging the choices they make as a person,” she began. “I am grateful to have lived in a moment in our society where choices exist, because as women and as girls, things can happen to our bodies that are not our choice.”

“I’ve tried my very best to live a life of my own making, not just a series of events that have happened to me, one I can stand back and look at and recognise my own handwriting all over, sometimes messy and scrawling, sometimes careful and precise, but one that I’ve carved with my own hand. And I wouldn’t of been able to do this without employing a woman’s right to choose. To choose when to have my children and with whom.”

Williams concluded her speech by saying she believes a woman’s right to choose is ingrained in the US’ fabric, and told women watching to vote in their “own self-interest”.

“Now I know my choices might look different to yours,” she said. “but thank God or whom ever you pray to that we live in a country founded on the principle that I am free to live by my faith and you are free to live by yours.”

“So women, 18 to 118, when it is time to vote, please vote in your own self interest. It’s what men have been doing for years, which is why the world looks so much like them. Don’t forget: we are the largest voting body in this country. Let’s make it look more like us. ”

The speech was celebrated across Twitter as incredibly well-written. It was an absolute highlight of the night. Watch it below.

Earlier in the night, Russell Crowe used his acceptance speech to talk about Australia’s bushfires, and Ricky Gervais’ opening monologue took aim at Apple, Amazon, Disney and Jeffrey Epstein, making a lot of people in the crowd very uncomfortable.