Michelle Yeoh Can Win a Golden Globe and Probably Beat You Up While Doing It

When Michelle Yeoh talks, the rest of us listen. She gave us a reminder at the Golden Globes tonight while accepting the award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Comedy or Musical.

As the Everything Everywhere All at Once star gave her acceptance speech, the wrap-up music began playing, but she wasn’t done with her speech just yet. “Shut up, please,” she said, directing her attention offstage as the first few notes started playing. “I can beat you up, okay? And that’s serious.” If you’ve seen her in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Supercop, Wing Chun, or any of her action films (including Everything Everywhere), you know she’s not messing around.

On a more serious note, Yeoh looked back at the struggles she faced in her 40-year career, especially as a minority during her early years in Hollywood (“Someone said to me, ‘You speak English!’” she recalled). After turning 60 last year, she also shed light on the very relatable challenges of aging and facing ageism, in the entertainment business and beyond. “I think all of you women understand this, as the days, the years, and the numbers get bigger, it seems like opportunities start to get smaller as well,” she said.

Read Yeoh’s full speech below, which is equally inspiring, funny, and a little bit scary—much like the actress herself.

I’m just gonna stand here and take this all in. Forty years. Not letting go of this. So just quickly, thank you, Hollywood Foreign Press, for giving me this honor. It’s been an amazing journey and incredible fight to be here today, but I think it’s been worth it. I remember when I first came to Hollywood; it was a dream come true until I got here, because look at this face. I came here and was told, “you’re a minority,” and I’m like, “no, that’s not possible.” And then someone said to me, “You speak English!” I mean, forget about them not knowing Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Asia, India. And then I said, “Yeah the flight here was about 13 hours long so I learned.”

As time went by… I turned 60 last year, and I think all of you women understand this, as the days, the years, and the numbers get bigger, it seems like opportunities start to get smaller as well. And it was probably at a time when I thought, “Well, come on girl, you’ve had a really, really good run. You worked with some of the best people: Steven Spielberg, James Cameron, and Danny Boyle, so it’s good. It’s all good.” Then along came the best gift: Everything Everywhere All at Once.

[music starts playing] Shut up, please. I can beat you up, okay? And that’s serious.

I thank you A24, Ley Line for believing in these two goofy, insanely smart, wonderful geniuses, the Daniels, who had the courage to write about a very ordinary, immigrant, Asian woman, mother, daughter, who was trying to do her audit. She was being audited by the IRS played by the most amazing Jamie Lee Curtis, I love you. I was given this gift of playing this woman who resonated so deeply with me and with so many people. Because at the end of the day, in whatever universe she was at, she was just fighting, fighting for love for her family. And Evelyn Wang was no one [without] Ke Huy Quan, Waymond Wang, and there was no Joy in her life without Stephanie Hsu, the most amazing Stephanie Hsu. And my hotdog lover, Jamie Lee Curtis. To Jonathan Wang, my producer, thank you for being with us every step of the way, my managers, David Unger and Kit Wong, who believed in me.

And this is for all the shoulders that I stand on, all who came before me who looks like me, and all who are going on this journey with me forward. So thank you for believing in us. Thank you.