Cameron calls out Poehler’s Golden Globes burn as a low blow

Director James Cameron is still annoyed about an old awards show joke from comedian Amy Poehler. He recently called the bit an ignorant dig during a New York Times interview. The joke happened back at the Golden Globes ceremony. Poehler was co-hosting with Tina Fey when she referenced fellow filmmaker Kathryn Bigelow, who was nominated for Zero Dark Thirty. Poehler made a quirk about torture, saying she would trust the lady who was married to James Cameron for three years.

Cameron, who won an Oscar for Titanic, said the event should celebrate cinema, not be a roast. He considers himself thick-skinned but feels Poehler crossed a line. He thinks the audience's laughter revealed what people assume about him personally. The reaction in the room was notably shocked, with actress Jessica Chastain looking jaw-dropped.

Cameron also addressed the old awards rivalry between himself and Bigelow. His film Avatar competed against her movie The Hurt Locker during that season. Bigelow ultimately won the Oscar for Best Director, beating him. Cameron says he was the first person standing to applaud her victory. He admitted they both found the media-created narrative about their competition kind of funny, but he worried it distracted from her work as a filmmaker. That shared concern bothered them both.