Aaron Sorkin Channels Abbie Hoffman To Condemn U.S. Capitol Riot Upon Best Screenplay Win At Golden Globes

Aaron Sorkin added to his total Golden Globe win count as The Trial of the Chicago 7 director took home his third prize on Sunday. During the annual awards ceremony, hosted by Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, Sorkin took home the best screenplay prize.

Sorkin’s legal drama centers a group of protesters accused of crossing state lines to cause a riot at the 1968 Chicago Democratic National Convention, and the subsequent trial in which they are tried as insurgents and instigators. The film stars Sacha Baron Cohen, Eddie Redmayne, Yahya Abdul-Matteen II and Jeremy Strong

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Upon receiving the Golden Globe award from Cynthia Erivo, Sorkin celebrated fellow nominees Chloé Zhao and Emerald Fennell and Regina King for inspiring his daughter to pursue film.

As his drama about the Civil Right movement-era found relevance to today’s audience, the director channeled Abbie Hoffman (portrayed by Baron Cohen in the Netflix film) to discuss the fatal attacks on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.

“I don’t always agree with what the characters I write do or say, but Abbie said, ‘Democracy is not something you believe in or where you hang your hat, but it’s something you do. It’s something you participate. You stop doing it, democracy crumbles,” he recited. “I don’t need anymore evidence beyond what happened on January sixth to agree with this.”

Sorkin bested Zhao, Fennell, Jack Fincher, Florian Zeller and Christopher Hampton for the prize. Trial of the Chicago 7 is also up for the evening’s best picture – drama and best director.

The 78th annual Golden Globe Awards, hosted by Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, aired Sunday on NBC. Watch Sorkin’s full acceptance speech above.

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