Tom Hiddleston has apologised for his self-indulgent acceptance speech at the Golden Globes on Sunday evening, which saw him ridiculed on social media.
The British actor was collecting his gong for his role in ‘The Night Manager’ when he launched into a story about a recent trip with the United Nations Childrens Fund to South Sudan – where he reported humanitarian aid workers had wanted to meet him because they’d enjoyed watching his spy thriller so much on a recent binge.
He added that the idea that he had been able to give them “relief” with his performance had made him “very proud”.
Viewers were quick to fire off their indignation, with one questioning “Oh my god did Tom Hiddleston just make South Sudan about me”?
And someone else wrote only, “No wonder TSwift ended things.”
By the afternoon, Tom had moved to express his contrition for how he came across. He posted a message on Facebook, saying he “agreed that his speech was inelegantly expressed”.
His message reads:
Tom’s co-star Hugh Laurie came off better in accepting his Golden Globe for the same drama. Taking to the stage, he said he was happy to be accepting an award at what could, in fact, be the last ever Globes, referring to the fact they were voted for by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association – none of these elements known to be those admired by a certain president-elect.
And he finished with a reference to his villainous character to the show, but also quite possibly other, real-life villains, “I accept this award on behalf of psychopathic billionaires everywhere.”