BEVERLY HILLS — When Paul Thomas Anderson took the stage at the 83rd Golden Globe Awards on Sunday night, the room expected the usual reverence accorded to a five-time Oscar nominee and a titan of American cinema. What they got instead was a masterclass in creative thievery, a tribute to Nina Simone, and a very public thank-you for a line involving “pussy” that left the star-studded audience at the Beverly Hilton both roaring and “gagged.”
Anderson, collecting the trophy for Best Screenplay – Motion Picture for his counterculture epic One Battle After Another, used his time at the podium to dismantle the myth of the solitary genius. Refusing to take sole credit for the script—a loose, high-octane adaptation of Thomas Pynchon’s 1990 novel Vineland—Anderson offered a candid look into his writing process, labeling himself and his peers as nothing more than ambitious “magpies.”
The “Magpie” Philosophy
“Writers, we are magpies,” Anderson told the crowd, clutching his first-ever Golden Globe win. “We steal all the bits and pieces that everybody says as best we can. We’re just hovering around, waiting for you to say something brilliant so we can put it in a notebook and pretend we thought of it.”
The filmmaker, known for the meticulous worlds of There Will Be Blood and Phantom Thread, explained that One Battle After Another—which stars Leonardo DiCaprio as a paranoid ex-revolutionary and Chase Infiniti as his daughter—is a patchwork quilt of stolen moments, overheard wisdom, and repurposed literature.
“I stole a lot of words from Thomas Pynchon, who wrote a great book that we adapted,” Anderson admitted. “I stole some words from Nina Simone—somebody asked her what freedom was, and she said, ‘No fear.’ That’s a pretty good line. So I share this with everybody I magpie’d off of.”
The Line That Stole the Show
The highlight of the speech, however, came when Anderson turned his attention to his cast. Specifically, he credited rapper and actress Shayna McHayle—better known by her stage name Junglepussy—for contributing the film’s most talked-about piece of dialogue.
In the film, McHayle plays J.P., a fierce member of the revolutionary group known as the French 75. During an intense confrontation with the film’s antagonist, Col. Steven J. Lockjaw (played by Sean Penn), McHayle delivers a blistering dismissal that has already become a meme: “This pussy don’t pop for you.”
“Shayna McHayle’s a great writer,” Anderson said with a grin. “I stole a line from her: ‘This pussy don’t pop for you.’ I owe her for that one.”
The line isn’t just a throwaway; it’s a direct reference to McHayle’s own musical discography and stage persona. In an interview prior to the Globes, McHayle revealed that Anderson had been a fan of her music since seeing her perform in 2022. When he approached her for the role, he didn’t just want her acting—he wanted her voice.
“I didn’t know it was like Junglepussy for real until I read the script,” McHayle told IndieWire back in October. “When I saw my name in there, and I saw my lyrics, and I saw all these pussy references, I was gagged. He was so inspired by the music that he made it part of the character’s DNA.”
A Night of Dominance for ‘One Battle After Another’
Anderson’s screenplay win was just one chapter of a massive night for the film. One Battle After Another entered the evening with nine nominations and walked away as the most decorated film of the night, winning:
- Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy
- Best Director (Paul Thomas Anderson)
- Best Screenplay (Paul Thomas Anderson)
- Best Supporting Actress (Teyana Taylor)
The film’s success marks a triumphant return for Anderson, who transitioned from the intimate, jazzy tones of Licorice Pizza to what critics are calling a “blisteringly hilarious dad-core masterpiece.” Despite its heavy themes of government surveillance and the death of the 60s counterculture, the film has resonated with audiences, grossing over $206 million worldwide as of early January.
The “Sinners” Connection
The category for Best Screenplay was among the most competitive in recent memory. Anderson beat out heavy hitters like Ryan Coogler for the supernatural thriller Sinners and Chloé Zhao for the Shakespearean drama Hamnet.
The friendly rivalry between the One Battle After Another and Sinners camps was a recurring theme throughout the night. Earlier in the evening, Sinners stars Hailee Steinfeld and Wunmi Mosaku stole the red carpet with a synchronized baby bump reveal—a moment Anderson jokingly referenced during his director’s acceptance speech, thanking his “producers for not being pregnant during production so we could actually finish the movie.”
Legacy of the “Magpie”
By the end of the night, Anderson’s “magpie” speech had become the defining manifesto of the 2026 awards season. It was a refreshing departure from the usual “it was all on the page” rhetoric, instead celebrating the collaborative, often chaotic nature of filmmaking.
As the ceremony wrapped up, hosted with sharp-tongued precision by Nikki Glaser, the conversation remained centered on Anderson’s honesty. In an industry that often prizes individual authorship above all else, the man behind One Battle After Another reminded everyone that the best stories aren’t just written—they’re collected from the world around us.
Frequently Asked Questions: Paul Thomas Anderson & The 2026 Golden Globes
Following Paul Thomas Anderson’s viral “magpie” speech and the record-breaking night for One Battle After Another, here are the answers to the most-searched questions about the event.
1. What did Paul Thomas Anderson mean by calling writers “magpies”? In his acceptance speech for Best Screenplay, Anderson explained that writers are like magpies because they “steal all the bits and pieces” of what they hear and see in real life. He credited his script’s success to his ability to collect dialogue from his actors, books by Thomas Pynchon, and quotes from legends like Nina Simone.
2. What is the “NSFW line” everyone is talking about? The line is: “This pussy don’t pop for you.” It is delivered in the film by the character J.P. (played by Shayna McHayle) during a confrontation with a government official. Anderson revealed he “stole” the line directly from McHayle, who also writes music under the name Junglepussy.
3. Is One Battle After Another based on a true story? No, it is a fictional story. However, it is an adaptation of the 1990 novel Vineland by Thomas Pynchon. It centers on the Reagan-era fallout of the 1960s counterculture movement, though Anderson updated several elements for a modern cinematic audience.
4. Who is Shayna McHayle (Junglepussy)? Shayna McHayle is a celebrated independent rapper and actress known by her stage name, Junglepussy. While she has appeared in films like Support the Girls, her role in One Battle After Another is considered her mainstream breakout. Anderson is a longtime fan of her music.
5. Did One Battle After Another win Best Picture? Yes! The film won Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy. It was one of the big winners of the 2026 Golden Globes, taking home four major awards including Best Director and Best Screenplay.
6. Who were the other nominees for Best Screenplay? The competition was fierce this year. The other nominees included:
- Ryan Coogler (Sinners)
- Chloé Zhao & Maggie O’Farrell (Hamnet)
- Ronald Bronstein & Josh Safdie (Marty Supreme)
- Jafar Panahi (It Was Just an Accident)
- Eskil Vogt & Joachim Trier (Sentimental Value)
7. Where can I watch the 2026 Golden Globes? The ceremony was broadcast live on CBS and is currently available for streaming on Paramount+ With Showtime.
8. Why was Josh Allen mentioned in the news surrounding the Globes? While not part of Anderson’s film, Josh Allen (Buffalo Bills QB) made headlines because his wife, Hailee Steinfeld, revealed her pregnancy on the red carpet that same night. Steinfeld was a fellow nominee for her role in Sinners.