Why Did Nominee Lin-Manuel Miranda Skip The 2019 Golden Globes? We’ve Got The Answer

We missed you tonight, Lin-Manuel Miranda! The 38-year-old actor was nominated at this evening’s 76th annual Golden Globes awards for the Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy honor for his role in Mary Poppins Returns but, sadly, Lin-Manuel couldn’t attend the special evening. But why exactly did he skip the award show?

At the start of E!‘s red carpet coverage, the actor sent a video message to his many fans explaining his unexpected absence from the 2019 Golden Globes. “Hello, Ryan [Seacrest]! Hello, world! Hello, Golden Globes! I am so sorry I can’t be there, I am so thrilled to be nominated and honored to be nominated but I’m in Puerto Rico and I am playing Hamilton in a production that we’re opening here to raise as much money as we can for artists and artistic organizations still struggling to recover in the wake of Hurricane Maria,” Lin-Manuel said on the evening of Sunday, Jan. 6.

“So, with that in mind, we’re going to start a new contest — in fact, we’re announcing it exclusively to you, Ryan. We’re going to raffle off 50 pairs of tickets to closing night of [Hamilton] and all the money will go to the Flamboyan Arts Fund, which is raising money for artists in Puerto Rico,” he continued. “I hope you enter and I hope I get to see you closing night. Have an amazing time at the Golden Globes. Tell [hosts] Sandra [Oh] and Andy [Samberg] I love them very much.”

Lin-Manuel was honored tonight for playing Jack in the 2018 movie Mary Poppins Returns which is a sequel to Julie Andrews’ 1964 original. The father-of-two was nominated alongside fellow stars Christian Bale (for Vice), Viggo Mortensen (for Green Book), Robert Redford (for The Old Man and the Gun), and John C. Reilly (for Stan & Ollie) at this year’s Golden Globes. Christian ended up the night’s big winner in Lin-Manuel’s category, so congrats to him!