Oprah Winfrey, has became the first black woman ever to win the Cecil B DeMille lifetime achievement award and used her acceptance speech to give a searing rebuke of racial injustice, sexual abuse, and attacks on the integrity of the press.

The acclaimed actress, producer, television star and entrepreneur got her Golden Globe nomination for her work in The Color Purple.

“ In 1982, Sidney received the Cecil B DeMille award right here at the Golden Globes and it is not lost on me that at this moment, there are some little girls watching as I become the first black woman to be given this same award. It is an honor – it is an honor and it is a privilege to share the evening with all of them and also with the incredible men and women who have inspired me, who challenged me, who sustained me and made my journey to this stage possible,”said Oprah Winfrey in her acceptance speech.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fN5HV79_8B8

She added, “I want all the girls watching here, now, to know that a new day is on the horizon! And when that new day finally dawns, it will be because of a lot of magnificent women, many of whom are right here in this room tonight, and some pretty phenomenal men, fighting hard to make sure that they become the leaders who take us to the time when nobody ever has to say ‘Me too’ again.”

The 75th Annual Golden Globe Awards, hosted by Seth Meyers, took place on Sunday, Jan. 7, 2018, The news was exclusively announced by 2012 Cecil B. deMille Award recipient Morgan Freeman during the airing of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s (HFPA) Golden Globe 75th Anniversary Special on NBC.

“The Hollywood Foreign Press Association is delighted to announce Oprah Winfrey as the recipient of the 2018 Cecil B. DeMille Award.  As a global media leader, philanthropist, producer, and actress, she has created an unparalleled connection with people around the world, making her one of the most respected and admired figures today. For generations, Oprah has celebrated strong female characters on and off screen, and has been a role model for women and young girls for decades. Holding titles such as Chairman, CEO, and Founder, Oprah is one of the most influential women of our time, and this honor is well deserved especially in this 75th anniversary year of the Golden Globe Awards,” said Meher Tatna, President of the HFPA in a press statement, ”

The Cecil B. DeMille Award is an honorary Golden Globe Award bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for “outstanding contributions to the world of entertainment”. It was first presented on February 21, 1952 at the 9th Annual Golden Globe Awards ceremony and is named in honor of its first recipient, director Cecil B. DeMille. Honorees are selected by the HFPA board of directors and are presented annually (except for 1976 and 2008).

The first woman to receive the honor was Judy Garland in 1962 who, at 39 years of age, was also the youngest honoree ever to receive the award, while Samuel Goldwyn, at the age of 93, in 1973, was the oldest. The first African-American to receive the honor was Sidney Poitier in 1982. Oprah Winfrey became the first African-American woman to receive this honor at the 2018 Golden Globe Awards.

In addition to her Golden Globe nomination, Winfrey earned critical acclaim in Lee Daniels’ The Butler and produced and acted in the Golden Globe-winning Selma. Winfrey starred in the Emmy-nominated HBO Films’ The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks and will portray “Mrs. Which” in Disney’s  A Wrinkle in Time film adaptation from director Ava DuVernay.

For 25 years, Winfrey was host of the award-winning talk show The Oprah Winfrey Show. As Chairman and CEO, she’s guiding her successful cable network, OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network. She  is also the founder of O, The Oprah Magazine, and oversees Harpo Films.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa as they celebrate the school’s seventh graduating class. Winfrey established the school in 2007 to provide education for academically gifted girls from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Just months after producer Harvey Weinstein, along with Kevin Spacey, Charlie Rose, and Louis CK among others, was accused by multiple victims of sexual abuse, the evening was politically charged, as actors addressed the industry’s long-awaited reckoning with sexism, the wage gap, and harassment.

The revelations about sexual harassment in Hollywood cast a shadow over the evening, from the black dresses worn by almost every attendee to the many ‘Time’s Up’ pins that could be seen pinned to lapels in support of an initiative launched last week to combat workplace harassment.

Other winners of the night included Sterling K Brown who became the first black man to win the award for best actor in a TV drama (for This is Us), while Aziz Ansari became the first Asian man to win best actor in a TV comedy (for Master of None).

Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign.

The annual ceremony at which the awards are presented is a major part of the film industry’s awards season, which culminates each year in the Academy Awards. The eligibility period for films correspond to the calendar year. Here is the full list of the winners of 75^th Golden Globe Awards:

Best actress in a limited series or television movie

WINNER: Nicole Kidman, Big Little Li

Reese Witherspoon, Big Little Lies

Jessica Lange, Feud: Bette and Joan

Susan Sarandon, Feud: Bette and Joan

Jessica Biel, The Sinner

 

Best supporting actor in a motion picture (drama)

Willem Dafoe, The Florida Project

Armie Hammer, Call Me by Your Name

Richard Jenkins, The Shape of Water

WINNER: Sam Rockwell, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Christopher Plummer, All the Money in the World

 

Best actress in a TV series (musical/comedy)

Pamela Adlon, Better Things

Alison Brie, GLOW

WINNER: Rachel Brosnahan, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

Issa Rae, Insecure

Frankie Shaw, SMILF

 

Best actress in a TV series (drama)

WINNER: Elisabeth Moss, The Handmaid’s Tale

Claire Foy, The Crown

Katherine Langford, 13 Reasons Why

Maggie Gyllenhaal, The Deuce

Caitriona Balfe, Outlander

 

Best actor in a TV series (drama)

Freddie Highmore, The Good Doctor

WINNER: Sterling K. Brown, This Is Us

Bob Odenkirk, Better Call Saul

Jason Bateman, Ozark

Liev Schreiber, Ray Donovan

 

Best TV series (drama)

WINNER: The Handmaid’s Tale

This Is Us

The Crown

Game of Thrones

Stranger Things

 

Best supporting actor in a series, limited series or TV film

Christian Slater, Mr. Robot

David Harbour, Stranger Things

Alfred Molina, Feud: Bette and Joan

WINNER: Alexander Skarsgård, Big Little Lies

David Thewlis, Fargo

 

Best Original Score

Carter Burwell, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

WINNER: Alexandre Desplat, The Shape of Water

Jonny Greenwood, Phantom Thread

John Williams, The Post

Hans Zimmer, Dunkirk

 

Best original song

Home, Ferdinand

Mighty River, Mudboumd

Remember Me, Coco

The Star, The Star

WINNER: This Is Me, The Greatest Showman

 

Best actor (comedy/musical)

Steve Carell, Battle of the Sexes

Ansel Elgort, Baby Driver

WINNER: James Franco, The Disaster Artist

Hugh Jackman, The Greatest Showman

Daniel Kaluuya, Get Out

 

Best supporting actress in a series, limited series or TV film

WINNER: Laura Dern, Big Little Lies

Ann Dowd, The Handmaid’s Tale

Chrissy Metz, This Is Us

Michelle Pfeiffer, The Wizard of Lies

Shailene Woodley, Big Little Lies

 

Best animated film

The Boss Baby

The Breadwinner

WINNER: Coco

Ferdinand

Loving Vincent

 

Best supporting actress in a motion picture (drama)

Mary J. Blige, Mudbound

Hong Chau, Downsizing

WINNER: Allison Janney, I, Tonya

Laurie Metcalf, Lady Bird

Octavia Spencer, The Shape of Water

 

Best screenplay

The Shape of Water

Lady Bird

WINNER: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

The Post

Molly’s Game

 

Best foreign film

A Fantastic Woman

First They Killed My Father

WINNER: In the Fade

Loveless

The Square

 

Best actor in a miniseries or TV movie

Robert De Niro, The Wizard of Lies

Kyle MacLachlan, Twin Peaks

Jude Law, The Young Pope

WINNER: Ewan McGregor, Fargo

Geoffrey Rush, Genius

 

Best TV series (comedy)

Black-ish

WINNER: The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

Master of None

SMILF

Will & Grace

 

Best actor in a TV series (musical/comedy)

Anthony Anderson, Black-ish

WINNER: Aziz Ansari, Master of None

Kevin Bacon, I Love Dick

William H. Macy, Shameless

Eric McCormack, Will & Grace

 

Best film director

WINNER: Guillermo del Toro, The Shape of Water

Martin McDonagh, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Christopher Nolan, Dunkirk

Ridley Scott, All the Money in the World

Steven Spielberg, The Post

 

Best miniseries or TV movie

WINNER: Big Little Lies

Feud: Bette and Joan

Fargo

Top of the Lake: China Girl

The Sinner

 

Best actress in a film (comedy/musical)

Judi Dench, Victoria & Abdul

Margot Robbie, I, Tonya

WINNER: Saoirse Ronan, Lady Bird

Emma Stone, Battle of the Sexes

Helen Mirren, The Leisure Seeker

 

Best film (comedy/musical)

The Disaster Artist

Get Out

The Greatest Showman

I, Tonya

WINNER: Lady Bird

 

Best actor (drama)

Timothée Chalamet, Call Me by Your Name

Denzel Washington, Roman J. Israel, Esq.

Tom Hanks, The Post

Daniel Day-Lewis, Phantom Thread

WINNER: Gary Oldman, Darkest Hour

 

Best actress (drama)

Jessica Chastain, Molly’s Game

Sally Hawkins, The Shape of Water

WINNER: Frances McDormand, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Meryl Streep, The Post

Michelle Williams, All the Money in the World

 

Best film (drama)

Dunkirk

The Post

The Shape of Water

Call Me by Your Name

WINNER: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri