Can there be an awards ceremony if (almost) nobody attends it? That is the riddle that the latest edition of the Golden Globes and its organizers at the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) have put at the feet of the film mecca with their unusual 79th gala that will lack its typical red carpet, the attendance of the stars and even without a live broadcast.
Founded in 1943, the HFPA consists of around a hundred journalists whose control over one of the most prestigious awards in the world of cinema, strategically positioned in the lead up to the Oscar, granted them privileged access with the Hollywood elite. Trips to exotic locations, stays in five-star hotels, visits to film sets and exclusive interviews with the most sought-following actors in the medium were some of the benefits that its members counted on.
Now the organization is reduced in power as a result of a series of scandals related to discrimination, favoritism and corruption that enveloped them in recent years and that led studios, agencies and the stars themselves to turn their backs on the former prestigious Golden Globes until profound reforms are made to the organization.
While the HPFA promised immediate changes, including forming a National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to increase its level of inclusivity, Hollywood has deemed these still not enough to stop the boycott.
One of the most painful defections for the Golden Globes was that of NBC, a chain that has broadcast the gala since 1996, which announced that it will not broadcast the ceremony in 2022, although it left open to broadcast it once more next year. Thus, when the Golden Globes are held this January 9 at the Beverly Hilton hotel in Los Angeles, the events of the night will be foreign to the eyes of the world and the only attendees will be members of the HFPA and its partners from the NAACP.
Also, far from the usual pomp with speeches and celebrations, the winners of the gala this year will be announced through the official page of the Golden Globes themselves and through their social networks. Whether the stars want to accept the awards with the stigma that still surround them will be another matter, and already several actors like Tom Cruise returned their statuettes last year when the scandal reached its peak. But as to understand it is necessary to know, in this note we recount how the Golden Globes arrived at their current situation.
The complaint
Although rumors regarding the HFPA’s misbehavior had been spreading for a few years, the beginning of its downfall began with a series of articles published on February 21. by Los Angeles Times They not only detailed some questionable financial practices within the organization, but also the fact that in the last 20 years the HFPA had not had any members of African descent. This last fact, in addition to the fact that the Golden Globes ignored several films directed and acted by Afro-descendants in their nominations, became a focus of criticism in the industry, hit by protest campaigns for the lack of diversity such as #OscarSoWhite in 2015 .
Criticism from celebrities such as Ava DuVernay, Viola Davis, Jane Fonda and Judd Apatow, as well as the Time’s Up movement, led the HFPA to accept that it must make changes, a commitment that performed once more during the Golden Globes gala on February 28.
In the middle of the gala, HFPA President Ali Sar came on stage and promised “a more inclusive future” for the organization. Beside him were Helen Hoehne and Meher Tatna, the latter a Bombay-born journalist who became the last person of color to join the association in 2002.
“We must ensure that everyone from all underrepresented communities gets a seat at our table, and we are going to make it happen.“Said Tatna, who served as HFPA president from 2018 to 2019. The organization subsequently promised to reveal the steps it will take to diversify its membership by May 6.
But their problems did not end there.
The start of the boycott
By mid march, a group of more than 100 public relations firms serving Hollywood’s leading figures signed a letter claiming that they were advising their clients not to work with the HFPA until the association begins to reform, increasing pressure on the HFPA. organization.
On April 20 a new scandal shook the HFPA thanks to its former president Philip Berk. Member of the organization for 44 years – and at the head of it for eight-, the South African journalist sent an email to other members of the group accusing Black Lives Matter of fomenting hatred and racism, in addition to ranting once morest one of its founders, Patrisse Cullors. Berk, who had survived several controversies, including an accusation of sexual harassment by actor Brendan Fraser in 2018, was eventually expelled from the association, although the damage had already been done.
Amid this new barrage of criticism came the announced changes to the HFPA. Unanimously approved, the roadmap published on May 6 proposes to add 20 new members in 2021, with the aim of increasing its total members by 50% in 18 months, prioritizing candidates from underrepresented groups. The HFPA also pledged to publish its codes of conduct and implement new policies regarding gifts and travel received by studios, as a way to make their operations transparent.
The auction
But the changes were not considered sufficient by Hollywood. On May 7 the actor Mark Ruffalo was one of the first to publicly criticize the changes for not doing enough and claimed that, as a recent Golden Globe winner, “might not be proud or happy to receive this award”.
Her voice was joined by her Avengers costar Scarlett Johansson, who on May 8 released a statement calling on the film industry boycott the HFPA “Until there is a fundamental reform within the organization.” The actress complained that certain members of the association have made her “questions and comments bordering on sexual harassment“And noted that the HFPA” was legitimized by the likes of Harvey Weinstein – the powerful producer disgraced in the middle of sex scandals – to get the necessary momentum for an Academy Award. “
May 11 occurred perhaps the most theatrical moment of the crisis when Tom Cruise returned three Golden Globes statuettes in a small box that commemorated his performances in the films “Born on the Fourth of July” (1989), “Jerry Maguire” (1996) and “Magnolia” (1999).
Two heavyweights from the streaming world also joined the boycott, with the CEO of Netflix Ted Sarandos and the head of Amazon Studios, Jennifer Salke, releasing statements stating that they will not work with the HFPA until there are “significant changes.”
But the real blow to the organization came from its decades-long partner NBC. The Comcast-owned channel announced on May 10 that will not broadcast the Golden Globes in 2022, the first hiatus since the gala moved to the network in 1996. NBC at least threw a lifeline to the HFPA, noting that it left open the possibility that the ceremony would return in 2023 if the association follows its roadmap and there is a “significant reform” inside. Of course, the real question is not just how many will be willing to see the ceremony, but who will be willing to attend it. And with the Hollywood elite rejecting the discredited award, its relevance is at the most precarious moment in decades.
Reform achieved?
One year following the start of the Golden Globes crisis, how is the state of your reforms today? The organization published in May 2021 a new and stricter code of ethics for its members, in order to face accusations of corruption and favoritism.
Additionally, in October 2021 he added 21 new people to his organization, six of them people of color. However, this inclusion is still far from its goal of have 13% members of African descent by the 2022 ceremony.
At the moment these reforms do not seem to have convinced Hollywood, thus explaining why the Golden Globes ceremony will be away from the cameras, laughter and liquor that previously characterized it.
Clarification: This note was initially published on May 11, 2021. We have updated its content with information regarding the 2022 Golden Globes ceremony on January 9.
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