James Cameron Responded To 12-Year Old Amy Poehler ‘Dig’ About His Ex (And He Did Not Hold Back)

James Cameron movies are known for being visual spectacles, from Terminator to Titanic to the Avatar films (which are streaming with a Disney+ subscription). While he's currently celebrating Fire and Ash hitting theaters, the visionary filmmaker recently spoke about a joke Amy Poehler made about his former marriage and career at the Golden Globes over a decade ago. And it sounds like he's still pretty offended.

For a few years the Globes were hosted by Amy Poehler and Tina Fey, who became synonymous with throwing barbs at the celebrities in the audience during their opening monologue. James Cameron caught a stray back in 2013, and he recently broke his silence about that viral moment. Let's break it all down.

What James Cameron Recently Said About The Globes Joke

James Cameron has been keeping busy promoting the third Avatar movie, and has been musing about his career as a whole along the way. During an interview with The New York Times, he addressed being mocked by Poehler at the Golden Globes over a decade ago. The joke was referenced both his reputation as a "scary" director and his former marriage to filmmaker Kathryn Bigelow. The director told the publication:

It sounds like this dig bothered the director. Not only because of the content of the joke, but because of how viral it went and the way it was received in the room. Indeed, the audience at the 2013 Golden Globe ceremony had a huge reaction, with big laughs and looks of shock happening by the various TV and film stars in attendance. As the director says, this highlighted how some people think of Cameron... even if they haven't actually worked with him.

What Amy Poehler Said About James Cameron

So what exactly what the dig that's still bothering Cameron all these years later? In their opening monologue, the two hosts referenced how his ex Kathryn Bigelow was nominated for her work on Zero Dark Thirty, an acclaimed political thriller which depicted scenes of torture. That's when Poehler made the the joke:

Obviously the star of Parks & Recreation (which is streaming with a Peacock subscription) wasn't the only one responsible for this joke, but she was the one who physically said it years ago. The shady moment quickly went viral and, as Cameron admits, got a huge response in the room. You can check out a clip of that moment below, courtesy of Twitter.

While casual viewers of the Golden Globes might have forgotten about this joke, it's clear that James Cameron himself has not. Despite how this joke was aimed at his reputation, he's stayed busy in the years since, releasing both Avatar: The Way of Water and Fire and Ash.

Avatar: Fire and Ash is in theaters now as part of the 2025 movie release list, and the previous two movies are streaming over on Disney+.