Growing up, there were two pieces of advice that always stuck with me: Don’t leave one nest until you have another one built and don’t write a check with your mouth that your ass can’t cash. (The latter essentially means that you better be ready to back up what you say with some sort of action.) And now, with the latest move between a handful of Hollywood publicists and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, it looks the HFPA’s feet are about to be held to the fire.
To help jog your memory, last month we told you about the revealing report concerning the HFPA and their lack of Black voting members. Subsequently, we also told you about their response and promise to rectify the situation via an official statement that was then reiterated at this year’s Golden Globe Awards by HFPA’s former and current president and vice president. But because Hollywood (and life in general, right?) is filled with people who are all talk, a group of Hollywood publicists are now threatening to pull their clients from all HFPA press and interviews in an official letter until an actual plan has been put in place.
Per Variety, the letter, which is still in its drafting stages, has been distributed to over 100 publicity firms in the industry, including: Ascend PR Group, the Chambers Group, the Collins Jackson Agency, ID, ImPRint, Independent Public Relations, Kovert Creative, The Lede Company, Narrative, Red Sea Entertainment, RMG, Red Sea Entertainment Rogers & Cowan PMK, Relevant, Shelter PR, Slate PR, SYE Publicity, Wolf Kasteler Public Relations and Viewpoint. Speaking on the forthcoming letter, one publicist expressed:
“They’ve got to change. Will they? We’re not sure. But we hope this pushes them even more. If our clients won’t work with them, then there is no HFPA. If there’s no HFPA then there’s no Golden Globes.”
Since the news initially broke, HFPA has hired diversity consultants and scheduled meetings with some advocacy groups, but only time will tell whether or not change is truly afoot.