Golden Globes viewers slam ‘most tepid tribute imaginable’ to late Rob Reiner

Golden Globes viewers have taken aim at a lacklustre tribute to late Hollywood director Rob Reiner.

Last month Reiner, 78, and his wife Michele Singer, 68, were found dead at their home in Los Angeles.

Soon after their son Nick, 32, was arrested – with police later charging him with two counts of first-degree murder.

In the wake of their deaths, a string of stars rushed to pay tribute to Reiner – who directed films including This is Spinal Tap, The Princess Bride, When Hally Met Sally…, A Few Good Men, Sleepless in Seattle and The Wolf of Wall Street.

Throughout his career, the filmmaker also received numerous accolades, including two Emmys and nominations for an Oscar, Bafta and nine Golden Globes awards.

Although many expected the latter to pay significant tribute to him at last night’s ceremony – they were left unimpressed.

As the awards show wrapped up, host Nikki Glaser gave a subtle nod to Reiner.

Appearing on stage in the final moments, the comedian wore a black baseball cap which had ‘Spinal Tap’ written on it – referencing Reiner’s 1984 cult classic.

‘Well, that’s our show. This one went to 11,’ she said, also referencing one of the movie’s most famous moments between the director and star Christopher Guest.

‘Thank you, guys, for an amazing night, and I hope we found the line between clever and stupid. A good Chalamet to you all, good night!’ she added.

However, this tribute was seen as severely lacking by many tuning in.

‘”This one went to 11” is the most tepid Rob Reiner tribute imaginable. Literally a room full of people who knew him and that’s what they did,’ user AbsolutelyMalc1 posted on X.

‘The so-called Rob Reiner tribute just being Nikki Glaser wearing a Spinal Tap hat,’ someone else shared.

However, others said they appreciated the subtle tribute to Reiner.

‘A great loving nod by Nikki Glaser to Rob Reiner with the Spinal Tap hat at the end of the Golden Globes. But sad there was no memoriam,’ Mike posted on X.

‘It’s nice that Nikki Glaser did a small tribute to Rob Reiner at the end of the show, but when did Golden Globes stop doing an In Memoriam??? Because there were some pretty notable folks that died this past year,’ Jeremy commented.

‘The Spinal Tap cap was a classy nod to Reiner,’ Harici added.

Although many questioned the tribute and lack of an in memoriam segment – the Golden Globes has actually opted out of airing one each year.

The awards ceremony does not air a segment honouring those working in the entertainment industry who have died throughout the year.

Instead, the Golden Globes pays tributes to late stars on its website. In its tribute to Reiner, the page acknowledges he was nominated for nine Golden Globes.

They included five for a TV supporting actor in All in the Family and four as a film director – for Stand By Me, When Harry Met Sally, A Few Good Men and The American President – which those films being released in 1986, 1989, 1992 and 1995.

But a few days before this year’s ceremony, Glaser spoke about her plans to pay respect to Reiner.

‘I knew him but not really well, and it’s delicate because we don’t have an in memoriam, so there’s not a whole section set aside to honour everyone that we’ve lost – but I have something planned that I’m going to do in my own way to just acknowledge him and celebrate him in my own way,’ she told USA Today.

She also explained her plan was not to ‘linger on it too much, because I think that’s what we’ve been doing for the past few weeks’.

‘I just thought: “If something happened to me and Rob Reiner was hosting a show, given our relationship, how would I want him to handle it?” And I think I landed on something that I feel he would do for me too.’

Last week The Critics Choice Awards, which were held on January 4, did honour Reiner.

In her opening monologue, Chelsea Handler began by sharing: ‘Everyone in this room knows that the nicest guy in Hollywood was Rob Reiner. Anyone who ever spent time with Rob Reiner knows that the minute you met him, he felt like an old friend when you were in a conversation with him.

‘He was present, he was focused, and he was funny, and he would ask you tons of questions, whether you were discussing politics or film or the latest beauty trends. He was all in after I sent him a text thanking him for dinner a few months ago.

‘He texted me back and said, “We had so much fun with you last night. Thanks for explaining so much about plastic surgery. It was very edifying”.’

She went on: ‘Rob and Michele were tireless in their efforts to so many important causes, all stemming from one basic idea: Decency, and that we should all look out for each other. I think we can all agree that we definitely need more of that. So, let’s use tonight as a reminder of that decency and as a reminder of everything Rob and Michele represented and fought so hard for.’

Following Reiner’s death, many of his former collaborators issued statements, including Billy Crystal, Larry David, Martin Short and Albert Brooks, who released a joint statement praising him as a ‘master storyteller’ and said he and Singer were ‘dynamic, unselfish and inspiring’ together.

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