NBC Pulls Plug on Golden Globe Awards

he future of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association has been in question for months, ever since the Los Angeles Times exposed its loose financial practices and lack of diversity. But with NBC’s announcement on Monday that it would not broadcast the Golden Globe in 2022, it began to seem that the HFPA might not survive the crisis.

Within the group, there has been infighting over how to reform and how to respond to its critics. But there also continues to be genuine bafflement about how things escalated to this point, as well as mounting anger that the clubby organization has become the focus of Hollywood’s struggles over diversity. In their view, much of the criticism has been opportunistic. The most resonant detail from the Times’ report was the revelation that none of the HFPA’s nearly 90 members are Black, a fact which has been public information since at least 2013.

“They have known us for 30, 40, 50 years,” one member told Variety this week. “How could this have been a surprise?”

Many HFPA members contacted by Variety declined to comment or referred calls to Sunshine Sachs, the organization’s PR firm, as they had been instructed to do during an all-members meeting on Monday afternoon. But the half dozen who did comment argued that the organization — which is made up of entertainment correspondents, many representing European outlets and some semi- or fully retired — is being scapegoated for America’s racial issues. “Maybe as an organization we were self-absorbed, and not thinking about the political correctness and the climate in this country,” said the member, who asked not to be identified. “We are not a racist organization. This is a racist country. Pointing fingers at us now — and saying you should have 13% Black members — it’s ridiculous.”

Several also noted that a coalition of over 100 Hollywood publicity firms — which have led the charge against the HFPA — do not have particularly diverse staffs either.

“Shame on the publicists, to be so hypocritical,” the member said.

The publicists’ group countered that the HFPA members are avoiding the real issues, which go beyond the lack of Black voters. They say that the HFPA has had a long history of ignoring films and shows from Black creators and people of color, failing to show up to screenings and press conferences for critically acclaimed projects such as “Girls Trip,” “Queen & Slim,” and “When They See Us.” When they did show up, their clients were often subjected to lines of questioning that they felt were demeaning.

Studios and publicity firms say that they had urged the HFPA to make changes years ago, but those suggestions were ignored.

“The HFPA is clearly trying to deflect the real issue, and their own responsibility,” says Jackie Bazan, founder & president, BazanPR and BazanED. “There is no defense against or deflection from decades of systemic racism, sexism, erasure and homophobia that has permeated this organization for far too long, with no independent attempt at reform. The HFPA sits in judgement of the creative work of others, their membership historically opting to exclude the work of BIPOC talent, making or breaking careers in the process, and practicing egregious behavior, all the while collecting millions of dollars for the Globes.”