Arrogant Golden Globe stars caught leaving early, smoking at tables and mocking fellow nominees in cattiest award show yet

Numerous Hollywood A-listers' less than proper behavior overshadowed Sunday's Golden Globes ceremony held at the glitzy Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California.

Sean Penn landed in the award show's bad books after the Oscar-winner reportedly lit up a cigarette inside the hotel, which is against the rules of the smoke-free venue.

A Vanity Fair live blog chronicling the event indicated that the two-time Academy Award winner, 65 brushed off the venue's policy to quell his nicotine craving at the event.

The outlet's Rebecca Ford reported that 'several guests have been looking for a spot to smoke outside the' Beverly Hills Hilton, where the event was being held.

Ford said that 'one director told me he saw Sean Penn just light up inside the theater, right at his table.'  

Daily Mail has reached out to Penn's rep for comment but has not immediately heard back. 

Penn also chain-smoked through a news conference at the 2024 Marrakech International Film Festival.

Another celebrity whose conduct surprised some viewers Sunday was Amanda Seyfried.

The 40-year-old star did not seem to be happy when she missed out on winning the honors for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture to If I Had Legs I'd Kick You's Rose Byrne.

Seyfried, who was nominated for her work in The Testament of Ann Lee, was seen grimacing with a pained expression before standing up to clap for Byrne.

Seyfried subsequently was under scrutiny for her reaction to Dying for Sex star Michelle Williams defeating her in the category for Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Limited Series, Anthology Series.

Seyfried, who was nominated in the category for Long Bright River, reportedly said Williams was not in attendance for the event.

Daily Mail has reached out to Seyfried's rep for comment but have not immediately heard back.

Reactions on social media appeared to pick up on unusual behavior from Seyfried.

Said one user: 'Amanda Seyfried not paying attention and preemptively clapping because she probably didn't think she'd win is the best thing I've seen all night. I love her.'

Elsewhere, a number of notable names - including Selena Gomez, Benny Blanco, Dax Shepard, Kristen Bell, and Keegan-Michael Key - broke protocols as they reportedly left the event early with a number of major honors yet to have been awarded. 

Some viewers were put off by a memorial to late filmmaker Rob Reiner that was described as too dry.

Host Nikki Glaser ended the show donning a Spinal Tap baseball cap, in reference to the musical comedy franchise Reiner presided over; and saying the ceremony 'went to 11' in a line from the film.

An X user described the Globes' gesture as 'the most tepid Rob Reiner tribute imaginable,' adding, 'literally a room full of people who knew him and that's what they did.'

Another said, 'The so called Rob Reiner tribute just being Nikki Glaser wearing a Spinal Tap hat.'

On the night, Timothee Chalamet soared over Leonardo DiCaprio - who stars in One Battle After Another - as the betting favorite to win the coveted Best Actor Oscar as he earned the top honor at the Golden Globe Awards 2026 for Marty Supreme (directed by Josh Safdie).

Before Award season it was 51-year-old DiCaprio who was the odds favorite to take home the coveted gong, but now Chalamet is a massive favorite to win the top acting prize at March's Academy Awards according to regulated exchange and prediction market Kalshi.

However, DiCaprio's flick One Battle After Another (directed by Paul Thomas Anderson) did earn the last laugh at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California on Sunday night as the film not only triumphed over Chalamet's project but also beat out Blue Moon, Bugonia, No Other Choice, and Nouvelle Vague for Best Picture - Comedy Or Musical. 

One Battle After Another was the most awarded film of the night with four but will no doubt face stiff competition in the Oscars race from Hanmet (directed by Chloe Zhao) as it earned the last award of the night in the Best Picture - Drama category over Frankenstein, It Was Just An Accident, The Secret Agent, Sentimental Value, and Sinners.

On the television side, it was The Pitt (created by R. Scott Gemmill), The Studio (created by Evan Goldberg, Alex Gregory, and Peter Huyck), and Adolescence (created by Stephen Graham and Jack Thorne) which earned wins in the drama, comedy or musical, and limited series categories, respectively. 

Meanwhile, 30-year-old Chalamet surely had tongues wagging as he barely acknowledged girlfriend Kylie Jenner during his acceptance speech for Marty Supreme. 

The French-speaking actor had another major awards show moment as he earned Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy and abruptly ended his speech by saying: 'To my parents and partner, I love you. Thank you so much.' 

It was noticeably a much more muted acknowledgement for Jenner, 28, as he boldly declared her love for her at last week's Critics Choice Awards 2026. 

Chalamet beat out an impressive field led by Leonardo DiCaprio for One Battle After Another as the field also featured: George Clooney - Jay Kelly, Ethan Hawke - Blue Moon, Lee Byung-Hun - No Other Choice, Jesse Plemons - Bugonia. 

 One Battle After Another led all winners with four including the aforementioned Best Picture - Comedy Or Musical gong along with Best Director and Screenplay for Paul Thomas Anderson and a surprise Best Supporting Actress win for Teyana Taylor.

One Battle After Another has already had a very successful Awards Season 2026 run but will face a formidable opponent in Hamnet - starring Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal - which earned the top prize Best Picture - Drama. 

 Buckley earned one of the top acting gongs of the night as she earned Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture — Drama.

The 36-year-old Irish actress triumphed over an A-list field including: Jennifer Lawrence - Die, My Love, Renate Reinsve - Sentimental Value, Julia Roberts - After the Hunt, Tessa Thompson - Hedda, and Eva Victor - Sorry, Baby.

On the television side, it was Netflix's Adolescence that had the biggest night as it swept their categories including 16-year-old star Owen Cooper becoming one of the youngest Golden Globe Awards winners of all-time.

The teenage actor was recognized in the Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role — TV Series, Limited series or TV Movie category.

His Adolescence co-star Stephen Graham later earned Best Performance by an Actor in a Limited Series, Anthology Series or Motion Picture Made for TV. 

It was a massive night for the Netflix series as Erin Doherty also earned Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role — TV Series, Limited series or TV Movie. 

Adolescence swept their categories as it finished the night winning Best Limited TV Series, Anthology Series or Motion Picture Made for TV over: All Her Fault, The Beast in Me. Black Mirror, Dying for Sex, and The Girlfriend. 

Noah Wyle kept up his winning ways after winning at last week's Critics Choice Awards 2026 as he was earned Best Performance by an Actor in a TV Series – Drama for The Pitt (created by R. Scott Gemmill). 

Wyle also led the beloved HBO show to the top television honor as The Pitt was honored with Best TV Series - Drama. 

Another big winner was The Studio as it earned Best TV Series – Musical or Comedy in addition to a Best Performance by an Actor in a TV Series win for Seth Rogen.