We shouldn’t allow the awards show to continue if it’s ‘rigged’, says Color of Change president



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The LA Times’ recent bombshell investigation of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the nonprofit that selects Golden Globe winners, revealed allegations of bribery, intimidation and self-harm to the tune of millions of dollars by members.

The report describes HFPA, which has around 90 members, as “struggling to undermine its reputation as a group whose awards or nominations can be swayed by expensive junkets and giveaways.” Despite the pandemic and its devastating impact on the film industry, members of the HFPA received $ 1.929 million for the fiscal year ending June 2020, “more than double the level three years earlier,” according to the LA Times.

While the virtual Golden Globes will air live from the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills on NBC on February 28, the allegations raise questions about the legitimacy of Hollywood’s annual rite of passage for creators and artists hoping to expand their careers and their businesses by winning a Golden Globe.

Being snubbed by the HFPA can stifle careers and opportunities, Rashad Robinson, chairman of civil rights organization Color of Change, told Yahoo Finance.

“These doors that close [by not winning a Golden Globe award] are economic doors, doors to greater opportunities. Are doors where people can then build businesses for the future and that’s why that’s so important, ”Color of Change president Rashad Robinson told Yahoo Finance. “This is why these allegations are so blatant, because the role the Golden Globes played in being that kind of opener needs to be questioned.

When creators and artists in front of and behind the camera are excluded from nominations and awards, the impact on their families and communities runs deep, Robinson said. The LA Times report pointed out that the HFPA has no blacks among its 87 international journalists who vote for the Golden Globe Awards.

The nominations of Regina King, Chloe Zhao and Emerald Fennell mark the first time the HFPA has nominated three women in the “Best Director” category. Barbra Streisand is the only woman to win the award for best director in the more than 70-year history of the Globes. (Streisand won for the movie “Yentl” in 1984.)

75th Golden Globe Awards & # x002013;  Photo room & # x002013;  Beverly Hills, California, United States, 07/01/2018 & # x002013;  (LR) Laura Dern, Nicole Kidman, Zoe Kravitz, Reese Witherspoon and Shailene Woodley pose backstage after winning the award for best limited TV series or film made for television for

75th Golden Globe Awards 01/07/2018 – (LR) Laura Dern, Nicole Kidman, Zoe Kravitz, Reese Witherspoon and Shailene Woodley pose backstage after winning the award for best limited TV series or film made for television for “Big Little Lies”. “REUTERS / Lucy Nicholson

The HFPA is also criticized for not giving more recognition to black-led projects. A writer of the Netflix series “Emily in Paris”, nominated for a Golden Globe for “Best Comedy Series”, actually called the awards ceremony for giving the television series “I May Destroy a cold shoulder. You ”by Michaela Coel.

“There are black creatives who have been nominated this year that we should celebrate and build up,” Robinson said. “The Golden Globes director category is more diverse than ever from a gender perspective. So there are some things that we should kind of make sure we don’t throw away.

However, Robinson sees the new allegations as an opportunity to examine the rules governing Golden Globe nominations and whether the HFPA is following them.

“If the Hollywood Foreign Press Association is not willing to somehow question their rules, face the leadership challenges they face, then they no longer deserve our support,” said Robinson, one of the principal organizers of the #StopHateForProfit advertising boycott against Facebook. in 2020 for not having rid his platform of hate speech.

Networks and advertisers who support Golden Globes televising should also take a serious look at the actions of the HFPA, Robinson says. “The networks that run them should ask themselves whether or not they are running a rigged system, rewards show or one that has those kinds of violations,” Robinson said. “We would maintain our support or push back other big events if we thought they were rigged, right?”

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