At some point, everyone has fantasized about making an acceptance speech for a prestigious award or accolade. Whether you were six years old at the time or twenty-four, you've likely imagined yourself with an Oscar in hand and wondered exactly what you would say and who you would thank.
There have been some truly great speeches over the years. Some are funny, some are intensely emotional, and some highlight to important issues in the world that need more attention and support. A lot of them can get a little boring, however, since many will involve the same memorised list of people to thank.
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On top of that, you have to try and remember who to thank in your personal life. Parents are an obvious one to pick, but there have been awkward occasions when stars have forgotten to thank their spouses, despite them attending the ceremony with them as their date. Human memory is fallible, after all, which can lead to many slip ups like this.
However, the awkwardness in Ewan McGregor's speech at the
Golden Globes this year didn't come from who he forgot to mention, but from the people he did bring up.
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The Golden Globes has had its fair share of controversy already, with the most notable story being that men and women alike came to the event
dressed in black to show solidarity with victims of sexual assault, harassment and misconduct. This was following the monumental number of allegations of misconduct that were levelled at Hollywood producer
Harvey Weinstein, which evolved into a year wherein many men and women came forward with their own stories of abuses of power in the industry.
While this was on everyone's mind at the event, and those watching from home, McGregor's speech still raised a few eyebrows. The actor won Best Actor in a Limited Series for his role as Ray in Fargo, where he extended his gratitude to those who had helped him achieve what he has in his career, including his soon-to-be ex-wife, Eve Mavrakis, who he has been married to for 22 years.
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"I want to take a moment to just say thank you to Eve," he said, "who always stood by me for 22 years". While this alone didn't cause a stir, as it is undoubtedly true that the mother of his children had a profound affect on his life, it was in the same speech that he brought up his rumoured current girlfriend who he has supposedly left her for.
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It has been reported that he left his wife for Mary Elizabeth Winstead, the actress best known for her roles in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and 10 Cloverfield Lane, who starred alongside him in Fargo, saying that "there wouldn't have been a Ray without Mary Elizabeth Winstead". Twitter reacted with a collective cringe at this moment:
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Neither McGregor nor Mavrakis have made any public statement about the split, but People magazine reported that they broke up in May 2017. The same month, Winstead announced that she and her husband had decided to end their marriage. McGregor was then spotted kissing his co-star, but the two have not confirmed a relationship as of yet.
