Celebrity
Golden Globes Pianist Chloe Flower Reacts To Haters Who Think She Played Off Winners
“I was sad that everyone thought that I would be that disrespectful.”
The 2023 Golden Globes had some buzzy moments. Host Jerrod Carmichael cracked a Tom Cruise joke, Ke Huy Quan’s speech left fans emotional, and Austin Butler continued to embody Elvis Presley. But Twitter was riled up after speeches were interrupted by a piano prompting them to wrap up.
During the Jan. 10 ceremony, to mark the end of commercial breaks, the cameras would pan to musician Chloe Flower, who played the piano in different outfits. While it was supposed to be a harmless gig, Flower went viral when the internet assumed she was the one playing the piano over people’s speeches — especially after she seemingly interrupted Michelle Yeoh’s.
While giving her acceptance speech for the Best Actress in a Motion Picture for a Musical or Comedy Award for her role in Everything Everywhere All at Once, Yeoh was in the middle of recounting her struggles in Hollywood when a piano started playing her off. “Shut up, please. I can beat you up, OK? And that's serious,” she jokingly said, looking at Flower.
Butler, too, later addressed Flower when he received his Best Actor award for Elvis. “You could at least play ‘Suspicious Minds’ or something,” when a piano started playing to cue him to wrap.
After Twitter started coming for her, Flower took to the platform during the ceremony to clarify that the pianist interrupting the speeches wasn’t her. “I would never play piano over people’s speeches!! I’m only playing when you see me on camera!”
Sadly, the online vitriol got to the 37-year-old artist. “I was sad that everyone thought that I would be that disrespectful. I would never do that as a live musician,” she told People. “I found out that I was trending pretty early on in the show. I had two more outfit changes to go, so I was like, ‘Oh, my God, how am I going to get through this?’ But I'm a professional, so I had to just continue as if nothing was wrong.”
Carmichael also noticed the conversations online and gave Flower a shoutout during the Globes. “We're so lucky to have you, and thank you for being here,” he said on stage.
Apparently, he had a chat with Flower backstage. “He came backstage and told me he was going to take care of it. He's like, 'I'm going to say something. I'm going to set it straight because this isn't fair,’” she told the outlet. “That was what made me cry, actually. It wasn't what was coming at me on social media or whatever the actors felt or didn't feel. It was really the fact that everybody there had my back and they were there to protect me. I felt protected so I was able to complete the show.”
Post-Globes, Flower tweeted to thank the host. “Don’t know how to reach Jerrod, but I thank him for having my back last night. Today is a new day + also #NationalHumanTraffickingAwarenessDay let’s focus on what matters!”
As for Yeoh and Butler, Flower assured everyone that there are no hard feelings. Explaining what happened after Yeoh’s speech, Flower told People, “She walked past the piano, and I stopped her and I was like, 'I would never play during your speech. I respect you, and I am a huge fan,' and she held my hand. She was so lovely, and she was so nice.” They even embraced, per Variety.
Flower added that her “biggest fear” was for the actor to think she would “disrespect her in any way.” “I felt like I was Constance Wu in Crazy Rich Asians like, 'Oh, my God, I don't want her to think that I'm this person that I'm not.’” Calling herself Yeoh’s “biggest fan,” she added, “‘I need her to know that I would never do that because I love her.’”
“She has been such a huge inspiration as an Asian. As a young Asian girl, I watched her movies. She was so amazing.”
Flower later tweeted, “Still a forever fan #MichelleYeoh !! (And she was much scarier in Crazy Rich Asians) #GoldenGlobes2023 #nevermeetyourheroes.”
Flower was also able to clear the air with Butler. “I spoke to him too. He walked past me and I said, ‘Hey, congratulations, that wasn’t me playing,'” Flower told Variety.
Overall, the night was fruitful for the musician — it even prompted a song. She shared on Twitter, “I’m excited to share my song Golden Hour that I released in honor of my performance.”
