In a time, where there’s a big fight for diversity in the entertainment industry, people are voicing their opinions and applying pressure to have more equality across the board. Amid all of this pressure to the Hollywood Foreign Press Association from studios, stars, and personnel from the film industry, NBC said on Monday that it won’t air the Golden Globes 2022. This certainly is a reassessment of Hollywood’s oldest and most-watched award shows. HFPA, which puts on the Globes, has received major backlash due to lack of diversity and its ethical practices. Actor Tom Cruise even returned his three Globes to the press association’s headquarters. A person who was granted anonymity couldn’t comment on this decision publicly.
NBC said in a statement that it believes HFPA is facing boycotts over the inclusiveness of its membership from Netflix to Warner Bros. Not to mention, Hollywood actors are standing up until the association commits to change, but this won’t happen by next year. The network said this level of change takes time and work. HFPA needs time to do it right, but NBC won’t air the Golden Globes within that time. They’re hoping that by 2023 they’ll be in a position to show the Golden Globes. The Los Angeles Times aired out The Hollywood Foreign Press Association in February after reporting the organization’s questionable record on diversity, which includes having no Black members in its 90 voting members. With this news in place, the press association pledged to do a thorough reform of its practices.
Regardless of their claims of adding more diversity, several studios have threatened to pull out of the Globes. Both Netflix and Amazon Studios said they’d cut ties with HFPA if it didn’t move quickly to right these wrongs. Netflix co-chief executive, Ted Sarandos wrote, that he didn’t believe the proposed new policies (especially due to the size and speed of membership growth) would tackle HFPA’s systemic diversity and inclusion issues. WarnerMedia followed suit with a letter saying that it would cease screenings and other events for the HFPA until drastic changes happened. They admit they tolerated the demand for perks and special favors requested to their teams and more. Hollywood as a whole has begun to take a stand against HFPA.
In fact, over 100 entertainment publicity firms urged their clients to skip any events related to HFPA. Mark Ruffalo, a winner this year, felt a bitter taste in his mouth because he cannot feel happy or proud of winning this award. Scarlett Johansson mentioned her experiences during HFPA press conferences which meant sexist questions or remarks that bordered on the line of sexual harassment. It’s going to take a while until the Globes scratch the surface for better equality and inclusion across the board.