Remember when the Hollywood Foreign Press Association didn’t have any Black members, rarely nominated Black artists and didn’t provide access for Black journalists?
Apparently, all of Hollywood remembers, as the organization failed to find any celebrity presenters for its Golden Globes ceremony on Jan. 9.
Variety published an email the Golden Globes talent booker sent to multiple publicists asking about possible participation.
“The Golden Globes will move forward with a small event on January 9th that will not only award the best performances in television and film for 2021, but also on recognizing the importance of supporting diverse creatives across the industry,” the letter reads. “The event this year will celebrate and honor a variety of diverse, community-based programs that empower inclusive filmmakers and journalists to pursue their storytelling passions. The HFPA has financially supported important underserved organizations for decades and will continue to invest in the future leaders of our industry.”
Honestly, this isn’t a surprise as the recent nominations live stream got more coverage for Snoop Dogg mispronouncing names, then for which artists and projects were actually nominated.
Here’s a quick awards show 101: All these shows are essentially the playoffs leading up to the Oscars aka the Super Bowl. The Golden Globes are more like the Pro Bowl, where no one really thinks they’re important, but everyone likes to get a free trip someplace nice.
Plus, just like athletes get bonuses for playoff appearances and all league recognitions, actors, writers and directors get better job offers and pay increases for awards.
The HFPA basically took all that extra money away from Black artists by not including them. And since they had no Black members, it never even occurred to them that they were wrong.
When it was finally pointed out to them, the association did everything wrong. In fact, if you had a checklist of all the worst ways to handle an inclusion/representation scandal, the HFPA did them all.
When it was revealed the HFPA had no Black members, the organization’s response was to announce it would make sure a whopping 13 percent of its members were Black. Wow, a whole 13 percent!
Then there was that time a former HFPA president reportedly sent out a racist email criticizing Black Lives Matter.
The association’s first attempt at “fixing things” was so inadequate, NBC decided not to air the 2022 Golden Globes, a position the network maintained when the organization refocused its diversity efforts.
So, what does the HFPA have planned for the 79th Annual Golden Globes? Per a press release: “In addition to recognizing 2021’s best in film and television, the Golden Globe Awards will shine a light on the long-established philanthropy work of the HFPA, showcasing a range of grantees during the program.”
You know it’s totally a you have to show up to get the money situation.
Kyle Bowser, Senior Vice President of the NAACP Hollywood Bureau will be on hand to talk about the Reimagine Coalition, “a joint five-year initiative to increase diversity, equity and inclusion across the global entertainment industry. Each year the HFPA and the NAACP Hollywood Bureau will collaborate on, fund, and support a series of trailblazing initiatives, with the overall goals of ensuring visibility of projects from artists of diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds; increasing diverse representation in the industry; and building pathways to inclusion for young artists and journalists of color.”
That’s a lot of PR buzzwords for “we called the NAACP and we’re letting them handle it for us.”
The ceremony takes place Jan. 9 at 6 pm PT at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles, and due to health and safety protocols, no audience will be present.