Tom Hanks' Golden Globe Grimace — Tom Hanks pulls a grimacing, pursed-lip face at a Golden Globes table while guests smile behind him.

Tom Hanks' Golden Globe Grimace

2020reaction imageclassic

Published November 13, 2026

Tom Hanks' Golden Globe Grimace is a reaction image capturing the actor wincing in the audience during Ricky Gervais' opening monologue at the 2020 Golden Globe Awards1. The camera caught Hanks mid-grimace after Gervais ribbed celebrities about political acceptance speeches, and Twitter users spent that night pairing the still with awkward-moment captions2.

celebrity reaction memes reaction memes facial expression memes awards show memes cringe memes

Overview

Posts using the Tom Hanks' Golden Globe Grimace format pair the wincing still with text describing a cringeworthy, hypocritical or socially painful moment2. A typical caption sets up a scenario where someone says something tone-deaf, and Hanks' face supplies the reaction. The image reads as the facial equivalent of a quiet 'oof.'

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Early edits took two tracks: single-image macros and photoshop remixes. Twitter user @UScertainty swapped the reaction into a Buzz Lightyear speaking to Woody template, with Buzz calling Ricky Gervais' speech 'legendary'4. Others stuck with straight caption jokes, like @JulesO2312's version about a friend with bad hygiene calling out somebody else's smell5.

Origin & Background

Platform
NBC broadcast / Twitter (viral spread)
Date
2020

On January 5, 2020, at the 77th Golden Globe Awards, British comedian Ricky Gervais opened the NBC broadcast with a monologue warning celebrities to skip political acceptance speeches, telling them they knew nothing about the real world3. As Gervais wrapped that bit, the broadcast cut to Tom Hanks sitting in the audience and pulling a tight, pained wincing expression6.

The full monologue clip, uploaded to Twitter that night by @bennyjohnson with the caption claiming Gervais 'DESTROYED Hollywood,' picked up more than 212,600 likes and 65,700 retweets within a day6. The grimace still was screenshotted from that broadcast moment and circulated on its own within hours.

How It Spread

MTV News posted the reaction shot on Twitter the same night with the line 'The monologue was tough on Tom Hanks,' earning over 6,500 likes and 1,200 retweets in a day1. Separately, Twitter user @mmpadellan shared the still and got past 2,700 likes in the same window2.

By January 6, caption remixes were out. @UScertainty posted a Buzz Lightyear 'legendary' edit using the Hanks reaction4, and @JulesO2312 captioned the still with a joke about a friend with bad hygiene commenting on someone else's smell5. Know Your Meme catalogued the image under its reaction-image entries the same week3.

Use of Tom Hanks' Golden Globe Grimace stayed clustered around the awards-show window, with most captioned versions posted in the first 48 hours after the broadcast12.

Timeline

2020-01-05

Ricky Gervais delivers the opening monologue at the 77th Golden Globe Awards; NBC cuts to Tom Hanks grimacing in the audience[3].

2020-01-05

Twitter user @bennyjohnson uploads the full monologue clip, which passes 212,600 likes within 24 hours[6].

2020-01-05

MTV News and @mmpadellan share the grimace still on Twitter, drawing thousands of likes each[1][2].

2020-01-06

Twitter user @UScertainty posts a Buzz Lightyear template edit calling Gervais' speech 'legendary'[4].

2020-01-06

Twitter user @JulesO2312 captions the Hanks still with a bad-hygiene joke[5].

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How to Use This Meme

Captioners typically pair the Tom Hanks' Golden Globe Grimace still with a one-line setup describing something cringeworthy, hypocritical or tone-deaf that someone said or did. The common convention is a 'when...' or 'that face when...' caption, with the grimace standing in for the viewer's second-hand embarrassment5.

Frequently Asked Questions