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NBC will not air the Golden Globes next year.
NBCUniversal released the following statement Monday: “We continue to believe that the HFPA is committed to meaningful reform. However, change of this magnitude takes time and work, and we feel strongly that the HFPA needs time to do it right. As such, NBC will not air the 2022 Golden Globes. Assuming the organization executes on its plan, we are hopeful we will be in a position to air the show in January 2023.”
The decision follows months of criticism of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for a lack of diversity among its members, as well as ethical lapses.
The move comes despite the HFPA announcing a slew of potential reforms last week which were slammed as “window dressing platitudes” by Time’s Up and prompted three high-profile studios to distance themselves from the organization.
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On Friday, Netflix — which dominated the Globes this year — announced it was “stopping any activities with [the HFPA] until more meaningful changes are made” and noted “Netflix and many of the talent and creators we work with cannot ignore the HFPA’s collective failure to address these crucial issues with urgency and rigor.” Next Amazon announced it was cutting off the HFPA until changes were made. “We have not been working with the HFPA since these issues were first raised, and like the rest of the industry, we are awaiting a sincere and significant resolution before moving forward,” Amazon Studios chief Jennifer Salke said in a statement. Then WarnerMedia joined the boycott earlier Monday. A group of 100 publicity firms likewise said they would “continue to refrain from any HFPA sanctioned events” until more meaningful reform was made.
The HFPA has been under fire since it was revealed in a Los Angeles Times piece in February that its organization had no Black journalists among its 87 members. Time’s Up launched a campaign to pressure the organization to reform, and the call to action was picked up by the media and Hollywood heavy hitters.
The proposed reforms announced last week call for the addition of “at least 20 new members in 2021, with a specific focus on recruiting Black members,” and with “a goal of increasing the membership by 50% over the next 18 months.” It also eliminates the requirement that HFPA members must reside in Southern California, expanding eligibility to any qualified journalist living in the U.S. who works for a foreign outlet. It also opened membership to journalists who work “in media beyond print” and eliminates the requirement that new members must be sponsored by existing member.
Members must also adhere to “a new code of conduct” that will mandate they no longer accept promotional items and aims to better address the “structure of press travel” and “press conference procedures, including consulting with publicists.”
NBC initially endorsed the HFPA’s plan, along with producer Dick Clark Productions, saying, “We believe that the plan presented charts a course for meaningful reform at the HFPA.”
But Time’s Up slammed the reforms as not going far enough, which prompted major partners to rush for the exit and left NBC on a rapidly shrinking island of awards show talent.
“Sadly, the list of ‘reforms’ adopted yesterday, and endorsed by NBCUniversal and Dick Clark Productions, are sorely lacking and hardly transformational,” Tina Tchen, president and CEO of Time’s Up, said in a statement. “Instead, these measures ensure that the current membership of the HFPA will remain in the majority and that the next Golden Globe Awards will be decided with the same fundamental problems that have existed for years. The HFPA’s list of recommendations largely contains no specifics, no commitments to real accountability or change, and no real timeline to implement these changes. The HFPA’s proposed September 1 deadline for some — but not all — reforms comes well after the next award cycle will have started. And even its proposal to increase membership by 50% comes with no commitments that the decisions to admit new members will be made in an equitable and inclusive manner with full transparency and oversight. Even more striking is the complete silence from the HFPA about reforms to the deeply troubled nominations and awards process. This includes the absence of any commitment to ensure that the Golden Globe awards and categories are free from discriminatory criteria, that the practice of unprofessional, exclusive press conferences will end, or that voting members will perform the basic function of watching the nominated projects. The window-dressing platitudes adopted yesterday are neither the transformation that was promised nor what our creative community deserves. Any organization or sponsors that set themselves up to pass judgment on our vibrant community of creators and talent must do better.”
UPDATE: The HFPA has released a statement in the wake of NBC’s decision: “Regardless of the next air date of the Golden Globes, implementing transformational changes as quickly – and as thoughtfully – as possible remains the top priority for our organization. We invite our partners in the industry to the table to work with us on the systemic reform that is long overdue, both in our organization as well as within the industry at large. Our below timeline demonstrates our commitment to achieving these goals with extreme urgency.” Then the statement laid out a planned sequence of events over the next few months involving adding new members and bylaws and culminating with the existing board and officers resigning in August upon election of a new board and hiring of an executive team.
– Scott Feinberg contributed to this story
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