Dec. 19 (UPI) — President Donald Trump‘s name was affixed Friday to The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., with one Kennedy family member threatening to chisel the change out.
Signage now reads: Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.” Workers added Trump’s name before one honoring the former president.
The change has drawn opposition, including members of the Kennedy family.
“Three years and one month from today, I’m going to grab a pickax and pull those letters off that building, but I’m going to need help holding the ladder,” Kerry Kennedy, the daughter of former Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, posted on X. “Are you in? Applying for my carpenter’s card today, so it’ll be a union job!!!”
On Thursday, Trump’s handpicked board of trustees voted to rename the building to also honor Trump. Eleven months ago, after he became president for the second time, he dismissed the entire board with new members and named himself chairman.
The name change requires a vote by U.S. Congress as mentioned in the U.S. Code that says no new “memorials or plaques in the nature of memorials shall be designated or installed in the public areas of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.”
Trump also changed something else that requires congressional approval: the Defense Department to the War Department.
White House press secretary Karline Leavitt posted on X, the it was changed “because of the unbelievable work President Trump has done over the last year in saving the building.
“Not only from the standpoint of its reconstruction, but also financially, and its reputation.”
Trump said he was “surprised and honored” by the news, though he hinted about the change while he emceed the Kennedy Center Honors earlier this month.
In August, he posted on Truth Social about new honorees: “GREAT Nominees for the TRUMP/KENNEDY CENTER, whoops, I mean, KENNEDY CENTER.”
Kerry Kennedy said Trump doesn’t represent the values of her uncle.
“President Kennedy proudly stood for justice, peace, equality, dignity, diversity, and compassion for those who suffer. President Trump stands in opposition to these values, and his name should not be placed alongside President Kennedy’s.”
Maria Shriver, the former President Kennedy’s niece and former first lady of California, wrote on X.: “It is beyond wild that he would think adding his name in front of President Kennedy’s name is acceptable. It is not. Next thing perhaps he will want to rename JFK Airport, rename the Lincoln Memorial, the Trump Lincoln Memorial. The Trump Jefferson Memorial. The Trump Smithsonian. The list goes on.”
Robert F. Kennedy’s grandson, former Rep. Joe Kennedy III of Massachusetts,posted on X that the center is “a living memorial to a fallen president and named for President Kennedy by federal law. It can no sooner be renamed than can someone rename the Lincoln Memorial, no matter what anyone says.”
Six Democratic lawmakers, who serve as ex-officio members of the Kennedy Center board, said in a statement to CNBC: “Beyond using the Kennedy Center to reward his friends and political allies, President Trump is now attempting to affix his name to yet another public institution without legal authority. Federal law established the Center as a memorial to President Kennedy and prohibits changing its name without Congressional action.”
Congress’ two Democratic leaders, Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, signed the statement.
Another ex-officio member of the board, a Republican, didn’t vote for the change. Sen. Shelly Moore Capito, R-W.V., told reporters at the Capitol on Thursday: “The Kennedy Center, in my view, is the Kennedy Center.”
Greg Biffle
Former NASCAR driver Greg Biffle waits for a chance to return to practice at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona, Fla., on February 20, 2016. Biffle, his wife and two children were among six people killed in a small plane crash on December 18. Biffle was 55. Photo by Edwin Locke/UPI | License Photo
Long Beach City College’s performing arts center is officially being named after Long Beach legend and LBCC alumna Jenni Rivera.
Last week LBCC’s Board of Trustees unanimously voted to name the new facility the Jenni Rivera Performing Arts Center.
“This naming recognizes not just an extraordinary performer, but a daughter of Long Beach whose voice and spirit transcended borders,” said Uduak-Joe Ntuk, president of LBCC’s board of trustees in a press statement. “Jenni Rivera inspired millions through her music, resilience, and advocacy. We are proud that future generations of artists will learn and create in a space that bears her name.”
Jenni Rivera Enterprises will donate $2 million over the next 10 years to the LBCC Foundation, with the bulk of the funds going toward scholarships and education programs, the Long Beach Post reported.
“Our family is deeply honored that Long Beach City College has chosen to memorialize Jenni in this extraordinary way,” said Jacqie Rivera, Rivera’s daughter and CEO of Jenni Rivera Enterprises, in a press release. “Long Beach shaped who Jenni was — as an artist, a mother, and a woman — committed to her community. Knowing that young performers will grow, train, and find their creative voice in a center that carries her name is profoundly meaningful to us.”
The performing arts center, which is scheduled to open in spring 2026, is the second honor the “Inolvidable” singer has received from LBCC. Earlier this year, Rivera was inducted into the LBCC Hall of Fame alongside actor/activist Jennifer Kumiyama and attorney Norm Rasmussen.
Rivera was born and raised in Long Beach, attending Long Beach Poly High School in the 1980s, where she got pregnant as a sophomore. She later graduated from Reid Continuation High School as class valedictorian. She went on to attend LBCC before transferring to Cal State Long Beach to get a bachelor’s degree in business administration.
She immediately put that degree to use as a real estate agent, while simultaneously working at her father’s recording studio and record label.
Her father, Pedro Rivera, was a noted singer of corridos. In the 1980s he launched the record label Cintas Acuario. It began as a swap-meet booth and grew into an influential and taste-making independent outfit, fueling the careers of artists such as Chálino Sanchez. Jenni Rivera’s four brothers were associated with the music industry; her brother Lupillo, in particular, is a huge star in his own right.
She released her first album, “Somos Rivera,” in 1992, launching a prolific career that was tragically cut short when Rivera and six others were killed in a plane crash in Mexico on Dec. 9, 2012.
The self-proclaimed “Diva de la Banda” was a self-made star with a veritable rags-to-riches story. She was a true trailblazer, a U.S.-born woman who took up plenty of space in the male-dominated world of música mexicana.
“One of my mom’s favorite exes used to work in this vicinity. We would come and check in on him and she always dreamt — I remember sitting in the car, in her Mercedes, and she always dreamt, ‘I’m gonna have my star here one day,’” Rivera’s daughter Jenicka Lopez said at the star unveiling ceremony.
“I thought it was impossible after she passed away, but God has a beautiful way of proving people wrong.”
UFC title holder IIia Topuria took a break from the sport in November to fight what he is calling “attempted extortion”.
Published On 16 Dec 202516 Dec 2025
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Undefeated UFC lightweight champion Ilia Topuria explained his withdrawal from the UFC 324 title bout on Monday, alleging he is addressing an extortion attempt and will return to the cage at the appropriate time.
Topuria is not on the UFC 324 card. An interim lightweight championship bout between Justin Gaethje and Paddy Pimblett headlines the January 24 event in Paradise, Nevada.
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The 28-year-old Georgian had already denied that an injury forced him out of a title defence. Topuria (17-0) said Monday he wanted to address rumours and speculation about his absence from the sport since November.
“Over the past several weeks, I have made the difficult decision to temporarily step away from defending my title. This was not a decision I took lightly. However, when circumstances arise that threaten your personal integrity, your family, and your reputation, there comes a point when you must address them directly,” Topuria said in a statement posted to Instagram on Monday.
“In recent months, I have been subjected to severe and unacceptable pressure, including threats to disseminate false allegations of domestic abuse unless financial demands were met. These allegations are entirely unfounded. The truth is not a matter of opinion – it is a matter of evidence. All relevant evidence has been carefully preserved and documented, including audio recordings, written communications, witness statements, and video material. This evidence has been submitted to the appropriate judicial authorities in order to pursue legal action for attempted extortion, falsification of evidence, misappropriation of funds and personal property, and multiple threats.”
Topuria has two knockout wins to defend the belt since he won it from Alexander Volkanovski in February 2024 with a knockout victory.
Topuria’s most recent fight was a June 28 knockout victory against Charles OIiveira at UFC 317 and made him the first undefeated two-division champion in UFC history.
Topuria has won UFC titles in two weight classes – flyweight and lightweight – and has been ranked as the No 1 pound-for-pound UFC fighter in the world [File: Gary A. Vasquez/USA TODAY Sports]
Kathy Kanjo, the director and CEO of the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, has been named the new director of the UC Irvine Langson Orange County Museum of Art. The news comes a little more than two months after UC Irvine announced it had acquired Orange County Museum of Art in a merger that created the new institution.
At that time, a rep for UCI said the hope was to announce a new director in the new year, so Kanjo’s appointment comes ahead of schedule. Kanjo has been at MCASD since 2016. Prior to that, she served as director of the University Art Museum at UC Santa Barbara.
When I first wrote about the merger, UC Irvine confirmed that it was taking over OCMA’s assets, employees and debt. A rep for UC Irvine declined to comment on a number, writing in an email that the budget for the new museum will come from university operating funds.
Kanjo inherits responsibility for a substantial collection of more than 9,000 artworks, including UC Irvine’s Gerald Buck Collection of more than 3,200 paintings, sculptures and works on paper by some of the state’s most important artists, including David Hockney and Ed Ruscha.
“The newly merged collection is both anticipated and underknown,” wrote Kanjo in an email. “I am eager to unveil and contextualize the artistic legacies of the Irvine, Buck, and OCMA collections from a particularly California point of view. Collected over time and together at last, these objects are an asset to be shared generously and supported by scholarly research. The constellation that is the UC Irvine Langson Museum offers a portrait of our state’s innovative artistic impulses.”
Kanjo also said the new museum would get a significant boost from UC Irvine’s research strength and commitment to public service.
“We will create rigorous and welcoming exhibitions that resonate with our region’s diverse audiences, young and old,” she wrote.
Despite the great fanfare of its opening in 2022, OCMA — with its 53,000-square-foot, $98-million Morphosis-designed building on the eastern edge of the Segerstrom Center for the Arts campus — never seemed fully realized. Problems were hinted at — but never explained — in April when CEO Heidi Zuckerman announced her intention to step down.
Meanwhile UC Irvine had been planning to construct a museum for its collection for quite some time. That, too, never really got off the ground. If there were ever a time to build consensus around a new mandate for the merged organizations, that time is now. Kanjo has a vision for the future that appears to center scholarship.
“I want to clarify the core identity of the collection and find connections back to campus and into the community,” she wrote. “The post is appealing because of its connection to UC Irvine, a leading research university, and the opportunity to work with the students within the Claire Trevor School of the Arts and all of the campus resources. The potential to foster innovation by working in a cross-disciplinary/cross-campus way is strong.”
I’m arts and culture writer Jessica Gelt, planning a drive to Orange County in the new year. Here’s your arts and culture news for the week.
On our radar
Broadway star Ben Platt will perform 10 shows at the Ahmanson starting Friday.
(Rob Kim / Getty Images)
Ben Platt: Live at the Ahmanson The award-winning star of stage and screen hits town for 10 shows where he’ll sing his greatest hits and Broadway favorites. And where Platt goes, his big-time friends follow, so expect some great surprise guests each night. 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday and Dec. 19-20; 3 and 8 p.m. Sunday and Dec. 21; 7:30 p.m. Wednesday-Thursday. Ahmanson Theatre, 135 N. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. centertheatregroup.org
“Holiday Legends” is this year’s seasonal performance by the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles.
(Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles)
Holiday Legends The Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles’ annual celebration pays homage to the greats, including Mariah Carey, Irving Berlin and Johnny Mathis, plus traditional choral classics, pop Christmas anthems and Hanukkah favorites. 8 p.m. Saturday. 3 p.m. Sunday. Saban Theatre, 8440 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills gmcla.org
The Huntington in San Marino.
(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
Stories from the Library: From Brontë to Butler This series highlights the literary side of the Huntington and its world-class library. In the newest exhibition, journals, letters, photographs and personal items provide a behind-the-scenes look at two centuries of women writers bookended by Charlotte Brontë and Octavia E. Butler. Through June 15. The Huntington, 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino. huntington.org
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The week ahead: A curated calendar
FRIDAY Holiday Soirée & Cabaret Fountain Theatre celebrates the season with a live announcement of its 2026 season, a cabaret performance from Imani Branch & Friends, plus, a raffle and reception. There will also be two separate performances of the cabaret. Soirée and cabaret: 7 p.m. Friday. Cabaret: 7 p.m. Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday. Fountain Theatre, 5060 Fountain Ave. FountainTheatre.com
Violinist Renaud Capuçon.
(Los Angeles Philharmonic)
Mozart & Sibelius Violinist Renaud Capuçon joins conductor Gustavo Gimeno and the L.A. Phil for a program that combines “Mozartian elegance with brooding Nordic drama.” 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday. Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. laphil.com
Santasia The long-running holiday spectacle featuring broad comedy, musical parodies and old school claymation returns to L.A. for a 26th year. Through Dec. 27. Whitefire Theatre, 13500 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks. santasia.com
SATURDAY
Laurel Halo performs Saturday at the Nimoy.
(Norrel Blair)
Laurel Halo Currently based in L.A., the musician combines ambient, drone, jazz and modern sensibilities in new works for piano and electronics in a preview of her forthcoming album. 8 p.m. UCLA Nimoy Theater, 1262 Westwood Blvd. cap.ucla.edu
Sound + Source Art meets music as DJs Novena Carmel, Francesca Harding and KCRW music director Ale Cohen provide a site-specific soundtrack to the exhibition “Corita Kent: The Sorcery of Images.” 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Marciano Art Foundation, 4357 Wilshire Blvd. marcianoartfoundation.org
Pacific Jazz Orchestra The 40-piece hybrid big band and string ensemble, led by Chris Walden, presents its “Holiday Jazz Spectacular,” featuring vocalists Aloe Blacc, Sy Smith and Brenna Whitacre. 8 p.m. Alex Theatre, 216 N. Brand Blvd., Glendale. pacificjazz.org
Holiday Family Faire Theatricum Botanicum’s annual daylong winter wonderland featuring performances, food and drink and a marketplace; followed by “It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play,” by Joe Landry, and starring Beau Bridges, Wendie Malick, Joe Mantegna and Rory O’Malley. 11 a.m. Family Faire; 5 p.m. “It’s a Wonderful Life.” Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum, 1419 Topanga Canyon Blvd, Topanga. theatricum.com
SUNDAY
The band Emily’s Sassy Lime in Olympia, Wash., circa 1995.
(Emily’s Sassy Lime)
Artist Talk Emily Ryan, Amy Yao and Wendy Yao of the ‘90s Orange County riot grrrl band Emily’s Sassy Lime join artist-activist-musician Kathleen Hanna of the band Bikini Kill for a discussion of adolescence, creativity and community. The talk is part of the museum’s “2025 California Biennial: Desperate, Scared, But Social,” which closes Jan. 4. 2 p.m. UC Irvine Langson Museum/Orange County Museum of Art, 3333 Avenue of the Arts, Costa Mesa. ocma.art
English Cathedral Christmas The Los Angeles Master Chorale brings the magic of Canterbury Cathedral downtown, reveling in the grand tradition of British choral works from the 16th century to the present.. 7 p.m Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. lamasterchorale.org
TUESDAY Aron Kallay In “Midcentury/Modern,” the pianist performs works from world premieres by Michael Frazier, Zanaida Stewart Robles and Brandon Rolle, along with 20th century works by Grażyna Bacewicz and Sergei Prokofiev in a program presented by Piano Spheres. 8 p.m. Thayer Hall at the Colburn School, 200 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. pianospheres.org
WEDNESDAY BOTH: A Hard Day’s Silent Night Open Fist Theatre Company’s annual holiday charity concert benefiting Heart of Los Angeles, an organization that helps kids in underserved communities, infuses the music of the Beatles with Gospel flair to tell the Christmas story. 8 p.m. Wednesday-Friday; 3:30 and 9 p.m. Saturday; 3:30 and 7 p.m. Sunday. Atwater Village Theatre, 3269 Casitas Ave. openfist.org
Elaine May and Walter Matthau star in “A New Leaf,” which screens at the Academy Museum on Wednesday.
(Film Publicity Archive/United Archives via Getty Images)
A New Leaf Elaine May made Hollywood history with this 1971 screwball noir as the first woman to write, direct and star in her own feature film. Walter Matthau co-stars as a playboy who has burned through his own fortune so plans to marry and murder May’s kooky heiress to get hers. 7:30 p.m. Academy Museum, 6067 Wilshire Blvd. academymuseum.org
Culture news and the SoCal scene
Architect Frank Gehry in his Playa Vista office in 2015.
Swed also wrote a story that came out of a recent trip to Tokyo about Carl Stone, an L.A. based composer from the Japanese capital, who uses his laptop to record environmental sounds and transform them into sonic sculptures. “Stone’s iPad, with its open sonic complexity, created a sense of space, a roomy aural soundscape in which jazz and butoh became elements not egos, not larger than life, just more life, the merrier,” writes Swed.
McNulty wrote an interesting essay about characters breaking the fourth wall and how it can galvanize an audience. “Breaking the fourth wall is a tried-and-true method of calling an audience to attention. But a new breed of dramatist, writing in an age of overlapping calamities — environmental, political, economic, technological and moral — is retooling an old playwriting device to do more than inject urgency and immediacy in the theatrical experience,” McNulty writes.
I spent time in Palm Springs over the Thanksgiving break to cover the grand reopening of the Palm Springs Plaza Theatre, which recently underwent a $34-million restoration. To celebrate, it hosted an intimate show featuring actor, singer, songwriter Cynthia Erivo.
I also had the pleasure of sitting down for an interview with Broadway actor Ben Platt in advance of his 10-day residency at the Ahmanson Theatre. We bonded over being anxious people, and he shared that he keeps his anxiety in check through live performance.
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Cameron Watson is the new artistic director of Skylight Theatre Company.
(David Zaugh)
Cameron Watson has been named Skylight Theatre Company’s new artistic director, beginning Jan. 1. He will replace Gary Grossman, who is stepping down after four decades at the helm of the Los Feliz-based theater, during which time he turned the company into one of the most respected small theaters in the city. “Cameron’s passion, his theatrical vision and his ability to lead, listen, nurture and mentor make him the perfect fit for Skylight,” Grossman said in a statement.
Earlier this week, philanthropist MacKenzie Scott gave $20 million to the Japanese American National Museum — the largest single gift in the organization’s history. Scott, the former wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, also gave the museum $10 million in 2021.
Hamza Walker, the Brick executive director who is behind the critically acclaimed “Monuments” exhibit at the Brick and MOCA, has been honored with the 2026 Audrey Irmas Award for Curatorial Excellence, given by the Bard College Center for Curatorial Studies. “Hamza’s three decades of curatorial practice have brought forward voices and perspectives that challenge dominant narratives, create dialogue, and have left a lasting imprint on the field,” said Tom Eccles, executive director of the Center for Curatorial Studies, in a statement.
The Times this week released its annual list of the 101 best restaurants in Los Angeles. I plan to go to every one. Well, maybe, like 20. It could get expensive.
A UNESCO panel backed Italy’s bid, recognising Italian cuisine as a social ritual that binds families, communities.
Italian cuisine, long cherished for its deep regional traditions, has been officially recognised by UNESCO as an “intangible cultural heritage” – a designation the country hopes will elevate its global prestige and draw more visitors.
“We are the first in the world to receive this recognition, which honours who we are and our identity,” Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said in a statement on Instagram on Wednesday.
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“For us Italians, cuisine is not just food, not just a collection of recipes. It is much more, it is culture, tradition, work, and wealth,” Meloni said.
The vote by a cultural panel of UNESCO – the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization – meeting in New Delhi capped a process Italy launched in 2023, with the government portraying the country’s culinary tradition as a social ritual that binds families and communities.
🔴 BREAKING
New inscription on the #IntangibleHeritage List: Italian cooking, between sustainability and biocultural diversity, #Italy🇮🇹.
— UNESCO 🏛️ #Education #Sciences #Culture 🇺🇳 (@UNESCO) December 10, 2025
‘Cooking is a gesture of love’
UNESCO did not single out any famous dishes or regional specialities. Instead, the citation focused on how much Italians value the everyday rituals around food: the big Sunday lunch, the tradition of nonnas teaching kids how to fold tortellini just right, and simply sitting down together to enjoy a meal.
“Cooking is a gesture of love; it’s how we share who we are and how we look after each other,” said Pier Luigi Petrillo, part of Italy’s UNESCO campaign and a professor at Rome’s La Sapienza University.
In its announcement, UNESCO described Italian cuisine as a “cultural and social blend of culinary traditions”.
“Beyond cooking, practitioners view the element as a way of caring for oneself and others, expressing love and rediscovering one’s cultural roots. It gives communities an outlet to share their history and describe the world around them,” it added.
The UNESCO listing could deliver further economic benefits to a country already renowned for its cooking and where the agri-food supply chain accounts for about 15 percent of the national gross domestic product (GDP).
It could also bring some relief to traditional family-run restaurants, long the backbone of Italian dining, which are facing a harsh economic climate in a market increasingly polarised between premium and budget options.
The Colosseum is illuminated during a special light installation, after Italy won a place on UNESCO’s cultural heritage list [Remo Casilli/Reuters]
Honouring cultural expressions
Italy is not the first country to see its cuisine honoured as a cultural expression.
In 2010, UNESCO inscribed the “gastronomic meal of the French” on its intangible heritage list, calling out France’s tradition of marking life’s important moments around the table.
Other food traditions have been added in recent years, too, including the cider culture of Spain’s Asturian region, Senegal’s Ceebu Jen dish, and the traditional cheese-making of Minas Gerais in Brazil.
UNESCO reviews new candidates for its intangible-heritage lists every year under three categories: a representative list; a list for practices considered in “urgent” need of safeguarding; and a register of effective safeguarding practices.
At this year’s meeting in New Delhi, the committee evaluated 53 proposals for the representative list, which already includes 788 entries. Other nominees included Swiss yodelling, the handloom weaving technique used to make Bangladesh’s Tangail sarees, and Chile’s family circuses.
A woman spoons ‘spaghetti alla Carbonara’ during a cooking competition [Andrew Medichini/AP Photo]
Hamnet, Sinners and One Battle After Another seen as top contenders, alongside films from Norway, France and South Korea.
The Hollywood award season in the United States is hitting high gear, with nominations unveiled for one of the biggest contests of 2026: the 83rd annual Golden Globes.
Often seen as a bellwether for the Academy Awards, the Golden Globes honour achievements in both television and filmmaking — a distinction that, with the advent of streaming over the last two decades, has become all the murkier.
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Limping post-pandemic box office numbers and high-stakes mergers have also complicated the future of the motion picture industry, with streaming giants like Netflix making a play for the century-old studio Warner Bros.
Still, several big-name blockbusters and critical darlings topped this year’s Golden Globe nominations.
Paul Thomas Anderson’s political thriller One Battle After Another was a standout, making good on its star-studded cast to sweep five acting nods, plus nominations for Best Comedy, Best Director and Best Screenplay. It leads the field with nine nominations overall.
Anderson was not the only cinematic “auteur” to receive laurels from the Golden Globe Foundation.
Chloe Zhao’s historical tear-jerker Hamnet — based on the relationship between writer William Shakespeare and his wife Agnes — nabbed six nominations in drama categories.
And Ryan Coogler’s springtime crowd-pleaser Sinners — a vampire film and cultural commentary, wrapped in one — scored seven nods, including Best Drama, Best Director and Best Cinematic Achievement.
While the Golden Globes is often seen as a cozy, champagne-clacking affair for Hollywood titans, this year’s nominations also suggest an ever-more international scope for its honourees.
The meditative Norwegian drama Sentimental Value scooped up eight nominations, and the French nominee It Was Just an Accident, by Iranian director Jafar Panahi, earned four.
South Korea and Brazil also broke free from the Non-English Language Film category, scoring nominations in the acting, songwriting and animation competitions for films like KPop Demon Hunters, No Other Choice and The Secret Agent.
Some pieces of award bait, meanwhile, failed to deliver on their potential, including director Luca Guadagnino’s slippery, post-MeToo drama After the Hunt, which scored a single nomination for star Julia Roberts.
Likewise, the musical film Wicked: For Good — the sequel to last year’s award-season juggernaut — disappointed its expectations. While it scored nods in acting and song categories, it failed to land in contention for some of the biggest prizes, including Best Motion Picture: Comedy or Musical.
The 83rd annual Golden Globes are scheduled to air on January 11, 2026. Here is the full list of nominees:
Best Motion Picture: Drama
Frankenstein
Hamnet
It Was Just an Accident
Sentimental Value
Sinners
The Secret Agent
Best Motion Picture: Musical or Comedy
Blue Moon
Bugonia
Marty Supreme
No Other Choice
Nouvelle Vague
One Battle After Another
Best Motion Picture: Animated
Arco
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba — Infinity Castle
Elio
KPop Demon Hunters
Little Amelie or the Character of Rain
Zootopia 2
Best Motion Picture: Non-English Language
It Was Just an Accident, France
No Other Choice, South Korea
Sentimental Value, Norway
Sirat, Spain
The Secret Agent, Brazil
The Voice of Hind Rajab, Tunisia
Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Motion Picture: Drama
Eva Victor for Sorry, Baby
Jennifer Lawrence for Die My Love
Jessie Buckley for Hamnet
Julia Roberts for After the Hunt
Renate Reinsve for Sentimental Value
Tessa Thompson for Hedda
Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Motion Picture: Drama
Dwayne Johnson for The Smashing Machine
Jeremy Allen White for Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere
Joel Edgerton for Train Dreams
Michael B Jordan for Sinners
Oscar Isaac for Frankenstein
Wagner Moura for The Secret Agent
Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Motion Picture: Musical or Comedy
Amanda Seyfried for The Testament of Anne Lee
Chase Infiniti for One Battle After Another
Cynthia Erivo for Wicked: For Good
Emma Stone for Bugonia
Kate Hudson for Song Sung Blue
Rose Byrne for If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Motion Picture: Musical or Comedy
Ethan Hawke for Blue Moon
George Clooney for Jay Kelly
Jesse Plemons for Bugonia
Lee Byung-hun for No Other Choice
Leonardo DiCaprio for One Battle After Another
Timothee Chalamet for Marty Supreme
Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture
Amy Madigan for Weapons
Ariana Grande for Wicked: For Good
Elle Fanning for Sentimental Value
Emily Blunt for The Smashing Machine
Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas for Sentimental Value
Teyana Taylor for One Battle After Another
Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture
Adam Sandler for Jay Kelly
Benicio del Toro for One Battle After Another
Jacob Elordi for Frankenstein
Paul Mescal for Hamnet
Sean Penn for One Battle After Another
Stellan Skarsgard for Sentimental Value
Best Director for a Motion Picture
Chloe Zhao for Hamnet
Guillermo del Toro for Frankenstein
Jafar Panahi for It Was Just an Accident
Joachim Trier for Sentimental Value
Paul Thomas Anderson for One Battle After Another
Ryan Coogler for Sinners
Best Screenplay for a Motion Picture
Chloe Zhao and Maggie O’Farrell for Hamnet
Jafar Panahi for It Was Just an Accident
Joachim Trier and Eskil Vogt for Sentimental Value
Paul Thomas Anderson for One Battle After Another
Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie for Marty Supreme
Ryan Coogler for Sinners
Best Original Score for a Motion Picture
Alexandre Desplat for Frankenstein
Hans Zimmer for F1
Jonny Greenwood for One Battle After Another
Kangding Ray for Sirat
Ludwig Goransson for Sinners
Max Richter for Hamnet
Best Original Song for a Motion Picture
Dream As One for Avatar: Fire and Ash
By Miley Cyrus, Andrew Wyatt, Mark Ronson and Simon Franglen
Golden for KPop Demon Hunters
By Joong Gyu Kwak, Yu Han Lee, Hee Dong Nam, Jeong Hoon Seo, Park Hong Jun, Kim Eun-jae (EJAE) and Mark Sonnenblick
I Lied to You for Sinners
By Raphael Saadiq and Ludwig Goransson
No Place Like Home for Wicked: For Good
The Girl in the Bubble for Wicked: For Good
Train Dreams for Train Dreams
By Nick Cave and Bryce Dessner
Cinematic and Box Office Achievement
Avatar: Fire and Ash
F1
KPop Demon Hunters
Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning
Sinners
Weapons
Wicked: For Good
Zootopia 2
Best Television Series: Drama
The Diplomat
Pluribus
Severance
Slow Horses
The Pitt
The White Lotus
Best Television Series: Musical or Comedy
Abbott Elementary
The Bear
Hacks
Nobody Wants This
Only Murders in the Building
The Studio
Best Limited Series, Anthology or TV Movie
Adolescence
All Her Fault
Black Mirror
Dying for Sex
The Beast in Me
The Girlfriend
Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Series: Drama
Bella Ramsey for The Last of Us
Britt Lower for Severance
Helen Mirren for MobLand
Kathy Bates for Matlock
Keri Russell for The Diplomat
Rhea Seehorn for Pluribus
Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Series: Drama
Adam Scott for Severance
Diego Luna for Andor
Gary Oldman for Slow Horses
Mark Ruffalo for Task
Noah Wyle for The Pitt
Sterling K Brown for Paradise
Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Series: Musical or Comedy
Ayo Edebiri for The Bear
Jean Smart for Hacks
Jenna Ortega for Wednesday
Kristen Bell for Nobody Wants This
Natasha Lyonne for Poker Face
Selena Gomez for Only Murders in the Building
Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Limited Series, Anthology or TV Movie
Amanda Seyfried for Long Bright River
Claire Danes for The Beast in Me
Michelle Williams for Dying for Sex
Rashida Jones for Black Mirror
Robin Wright for The Girlfriend
Sarah Snook for All Her Fault
Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Series: Musical or Comedy
Adam Brody for Nobody Wants This
Glen Powell for Chad Powers
Jeremy Allen White for The Bear
Martin Short for Only Murders in the Building
Seth Rogen for The Studio
Steve Martin for Only Murders in the Building
Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role on Television
Aimee Lou Wood for The White Lotus
Carrie Coon for The White Lotus
Catherine O’Hara for The Studio
Erin Doherty for Adolescence
Hannah Einbinder for Hacks
Parker Posey for The White Lotus
Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Limited Series, Anthology or TV Movie
Charlie Hunnam for Monster: The Ed Gein Story
Jacob Elordi for The Narrow Road to the Deep North
Jude Law for Black Rabbit
Matthew Rhys for The Beast in Me
Paul Giamatti for Black Mirror
Stephen Graham for Adolescence
Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role on Television
Ashley Walters for Adolescence
Billy Crudup for The Morning Show
Jason Isaacs for The White Lotus
Owen Cooper for Adolescence
Tramell Tillman for Severance
Walton Goggins for The White Lotus
Best Performance in Stand-Up Comedy on Television
Bill Maher: Is Anyone Else Seeing This?
Brett Goldstein: The Second Best Night of Your Life
Kevin Hart: Acting My Age
Kumail Ali Nanjiani: Night Thoughts
Ricky Gervais: Mortality
Sarah Silverman: Postmortem
Best Podcast
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
Call Her Daddy with Alex Cooper
Good Hang with Amy Poehler
Smartless with Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes and Will Arnett
