Hacks star Jean Smart took her turn at the microphone on the 2026 Golden Globe Awards red carpet to express her concerns over the current state of the political climate in America.
When asked by Entertainment Tonight‘s Kevin Frazier how filming for the upcoming fifth season of her HBO comedy is going, she said, “Good,” but added, “Everything’s kind of overshadowed by everything that’s going on right now in our country… I feel like we’re kind of at a turning point in this country, and I hope people can keep their heads because that’s actually, really the hardest thing, I think, is to keep our heads. It’s going to take a lot of courage and concerns, but I think that’s important.”
After a brief interruption to the interview, she continued. “I feel like there are certain entities that would like us to fight back and possibly… I don’t know, it’s very concerning.”
Smart went on to preempt criticism that she, as an actor, shouldn’t be using her pedestal at the awards season to speak about political issues by saying, “I know that there are people who find it annoying when actors take opportunities like this to talk about social and political things, but I’m not here right now speaking as an actor. I’m here speaking as a citizen and a mom, and I hope people understand that.”
Meanwhile, in a red carpet interview with Variety, Smart also said, “I’m not as optimistic about things these days, about the world these days, but I just hope the people realize how important what’s going on is right now. Really, this is a moment of reckoning, I think, in this country. And I just hope that people do the right thing, and I think almost everybody knows in their hearts what’s the right thing… I know people that go, ‘Oh god, who cares what you think? You’re an actress, who cares?’ But I don’t think my opinion matters more than anybody’s. That’s not at all what I’m doing. I feel like if you feel strongly about something, and you have the chance to share your feelings or encourage people or cheer somebody on, you should do it.”
Smart was nominated for Actress in a Musical or Comedy TV Series, her fourth nomination, for her turn as standup comedy star Deborah Vance.
She’s not the only Hacks star who has spoken out about her political opinions at a major awards show; her costar Hannah Einbinder previously said in her acceptance speech at the 2025 Emmys, “Go birds, f*** ICE, and free Palestine.”
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In response to Smart’s comments, one X (formerly Twitter) user wrote, “Thank you for speaking out as a concerned citizen of this deeply troubled country, Jean Smart!”
Another wrote, “Love Jean Smart acknowledging the current moment and how often actors are discouraged from being political. They SHOULD be acknowledging what’s going on. Interested to see how many will use tonight to speak out (or not).”
(@lesleyabravanel) 
