The show had to go on, but that didn't mean the participants ignored the crisis unfolding thousands of miles away. At the Beverly Hilton on Sunday (January 22), the Golden Globes proceeded as planned, while throughout the evening celebrities paid respects to the tragic situation in Haiti.
"I'm just waiting for silver linings," Neil Patrick Harris told MTV News on the red carpet. "There are a lot of wonderful people who have banded together and sent money to the Red Cross. It's a very worldly problem and it's impressive to see so many factions of the world uniting financially. It's really bad over there right now.
That sentiment was echoed on the carpet and inside the Hilton by the likes of Maggie Gyllenhaal, Drew Barrymore and Marion Cotillard. Taking the podium after host Ricky Gervais' opening monologue, Nicole Kidman brought attention to the many ways viewers can help relief efforts. After pointing out that many attendees had pinned Haitian ribbons to their outfits in solidarity with the stricken island, the Oscar-winning actress directed the audience watching at home to hit the Web for ways to donate money to charitable organizations.
MTV has also collected together a resource page with links to various outfits that are involved in relief efforts, from the American Red Cross to UNICEF to Wyclef Jean's Yele Haiti.
Accepting her Best Actress award for her turn in "Julie & Julia," Meryl Streep confessed she has leaned on a loved one's perennial advice to rouse her enthusiasm for an awards show at such a troubled time. "I come to Golden Globes weekend and I am really, honestly conflicted — how to have my happy movie self in the face of everything I'm aware of in the real world," she said. "And I want to say that's when I have my mother's voice coming to me, saying, 'Shoot some money to Partners in Health, put the dress on, put on a smile and be damn grateful you have the dollars to help.' "
According to "Up in the Air" director Jason Reitman, George Clooney would have preferred to be elsewhere on Sunday night. The actor is getting set to stage a global telethon called Hope for Haiti that will air on network and cable channels, raising money for relief efforts.
"George doesn't even want to be here tonight," Reitman revealed. "He wishes he was in a soundstage setting up 20,000 phone lines for a benefit for Haiti right now."