Adam McKay’s Dick Cheney biopic Vice led the way at Sunday night’s Golden Globes with a total six nominations, and Christian Bale, who played the titular character, ended up winning the trophy for Best Performance by an Actor in a Musical or Comedy for the role. Lest anyone think Bale may have gained some empathy for the former Vice President under George W. Bush, he made it emphatically clear in his speech that this was absolutely not the case.
“Ah look at us, what a bunch of lucky buggers we are, right, for making a life out of doing something that we love,” he started out earnestly enough, first thanking his wife and giving her credit for helping him learn that less is more when it comes to not tanking speeches. With that said, he went on to lay into the charisma-free bleeps that made this role possible, throwing a shout-out to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and literally thanking the dark lord himself for helping him to get into character as Cheney:
Thank you to that geezer over there, Adam, he said “I’ve got to find somebody who can be absolutely charisma-free and reviled by everybody,” so he went, “That’s got to be Bale.” Thank you for all the competition, I’ll be cornering the market on charisma-free [bleep]. What do you think, Mitch McConnell, next? That could be good, couldn’t it? Thank you to Satan for giving me inspiration onto how to play this role.
Whether or not his wife approved, Twitter was for the most part extremely on board with Bale’s speech.
https://twitter.com/davidehrlich/status/1082105950612402176
Is Christian Bale the first actor to ever thank Satan during their #GoldenGlobes acceptance speech? pic.twitter.com/SG6W4W4U4T
— Erik Davis (@ErikDavis) January 7, 2019
https://twitter.com/brockwilbur/status/1082112896216322048
Christian Bale just thanked "Satan, for the inspiration" during his acceptance speech for playing Dick Cheney in 'Vice' and I am DED #GoldenGlobes
— shauna (@goldengateblond) January 7, 2019
"Thank you to Satan for giving me inspiration on how to play this role." — Christian Bale after winning the #GoldenGIobe for playing Dick Cheney
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) January 7, 2019
https://twitter.com/somebadideas/status/1082105848908910592
gotta say, I don't think anyone's ever thanked SATAN in an acceptance speech before?? #GoldenGlobes
— Anna Menta (@annalikestweets) January 7, 2019
Christian Bale thanking Satan in an acceptance speech is a good 2019 mood
— Patrick Hosken (@patrickhosken) January 7, 2019
Christian Bale thanking SATAN for being an inspiration on his role as Dick Cheney. #GoldenGlobes pic.twitter.com/7TSdkTUvmP
— Boo Boo (@RealityBooBoo) January 7, 2019
https://twitter.com/TWheatsRN/status/1082106321900425216
https://twitter.com/sylvia__north/status/1082106273057796096
Even followers of the big red guy himself were apparently down:
To us, Satan is a symbol of pride, liberty and individualism, and it serves as an external metaphorical projection of our highest personal potential. As Mr. Bale's own talent and skill won him the award, this is fitting. Hail Christian! Hail Satan! https://t.co/ILuK8TFZXi
— The Church Of Satan (@ChurchofSatan) January 7, 2019
It makes you wonder who the eventual star of the Trump biopic is going to thank someday.
