‘Completely a PR award’: Golden Globes unveils new category and everyone’s already mad

Listen up Hollywood, The Golden Globes is not done shaking things up.

The Golden Globes is not exactly out of the doghouse, but the come-up seems like it’s on the pipeline. For the longest time, The Golden Globes has always acted as a curtain raiser for The Oscars — a little cringier, a little funnier, and definitely more tipsy. However, there was a badly kept secret underbelly to the inner workings of The Golden Globes: the committee that chose the winners was not diverse at all and, to make it worse, they were also quite corrupt.

But a lot has changed since that revelation in 2023. They got a bit more diverse in their committee and their new ownership vowed to uphold “professionalization.” It took a while before the show got back to its old form, and this year — especially with the elite Nikki Glaser hosting — it felt like they actually might have made a full comeback.

Yet it couldn’t really end there. As things stood, it was just The Oscars’ little brother. The Golden Globes has always stood for an awards night that’s a little looser than anything else on the packed awards circuit. So it was a matter of when and not if for them to make a truly wide swing at an award that doesn’t just suggest the suits and red carpet photography. And that has now fully been decided: The Golden Globes will officially add Best Podcast from 2026 onwards. So there’s a huge possibility of Joe Rogan walking that carpet one day next to all the celebrities he spends his show bashing.

According to CNN, The Golden Globes will only consider podcasts within the Top 25 Podcast list. So there’s at least some quality control. However, it’s not exactly clear how this is going to work. Are they gonna favor movie and TV podcasts like The Big Picture and The Watch? The problem with that is sometimes these shows dedicate entire episodes to reacting to awards nights such as The Golden Globes — so how would that work? And sometimes they criticize these shows and the voters — so would that water down these podcasts because they want to remain in the good graces of the voters?

And then there’s also the case of Joe Rogan and his band of fellow comedians who pride themselves in their irreverent rejection of Hollywood. Do they stand a chance? Or will this award just go to famous celebrities who are yet to win a Golden Globe and happen to have a podcast?

Cynicism has already hit X, and some fans have assumed that this is “completely a PR award.”

…..WHY? I’m sure it’s not gonna be “best podcast” and instead “best podcast done with a celebrity” because this is the golden globes after all. Completely a PR award.

— TV is My God (@TVisMyGod) May 7, 2025

I hope the committee behind The Golden Globes ends up making inspired choices. At this point, podcasting can get you a Webby Award, but nobody can deny that podcasting has since grown into mainstream culture. They even influence elections.

The Golden Globes has informed the press that in the coming weeks they’ll give more information on the eligibility of this category. Glaser is going to have a field day with this category, that’s for sure.