Culture & Society

Hollywood virtue signals itself into oblivion: NBC cancels Golden Globes over lack of diversity

May 12, 2021 | | Print Article

NBC has decided to cancel the 2022 Golden Globes ceremony due to a lack of diversity in the Hollywood Foreign Press Association which is behind the event. Also at play are low ratings and pressure from celebrities such as Tom Cruise.

The death knell of the Golden Globes revolves around what Hollywood and the media claim is an ethical challenge. Of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s 87 foreign journalists who cover Tinseltown, not one is black. NBC is the awards’ long-standing broadcast partner and was the one to deliver the final nail in the Golden Globes’ coffin. This will be the first time since 1996 that the award show has not aired on NBC.

“We continue to believe that the HFPA is committed to meaningful reform,” NBC said in a statement. “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.”

Actor Tom Cruise in a virtue-signaling move of epic proportions that sent tremors through Hollywood reportedly returned all three of his Golden Globes in a box to the front desk of HFPA’s headquarters over the controversy. He received his awards for “Born on the Fourth of July ” (Best Actor, Drama), “Jerry Maguire” (Best Actor, Comedy or Musical), and “Magnolia” (Best Supporting Actor).

(Video Credit: Fox News | Gutfeld)

Actress Scarlett Johansson, who is a five-time Globes nominee, blow-torched the HFPA: “The HFPA is an organization that was legitimized by the likes of Harvey Weinstein to amass momentum for Academy recognition and the industry followed suit. Unless there is necessary fundamental reform within the organization, I believe it is time that we take a step back from the HFPA and focus on the importance and strength of unity within our unions and the industry as a whole.”

Netflix, Amazon, and Warner Media have all boycotted the HFPA. Netflix alone could tank the organization and they issued a statement announcing a boycott: “We don’t believe these proposed new policies — particularly around the size and speed of membership growth — will tackle the HFPA’s systemic diversity and inclusion challenges, or the lack of clear standards for how your members should operate. So we’re stopping any activities with [the HFPA] until more meaningful changes are made. 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.”

Actor and producer Mark Ruffalo is joining Cruise and Johansson in taking a stand against HFPA.

The future of the Golden Globes is not promising. In 2018, NBCUniversal finalized an eight-year contract with the HFPA worth $60 million annually. That deal is now very much in doubt.

The organization’s woes started in February when the Los Angeles Times reported on their lack of diversity, a monumental level of alleged graft, and highly questionable standards.

The HFPA has made a previous statement committing to diversity but has evidently not followed through on the pledge. Time’s Up CEO Tina Tchen called them out for it. She sent a letter to NBC to pressure the network over the issue: “Much of the credibility of the Golden Globes is drawn from its affiliation with your network. NBCUniversal has a reputational interest in fixing these issues. To do so is consistent with your chairman Brian Roberts’ commitment that the ‘company will try to play an integral role in driving lasting reform.’ As leaders of NBCUniversal television, your power as stakeholders makes you an effective force of change.”

All of Hollywood’s award shows have seen lower ratings after going politically woke although they are still attempting to blame the pandemic for the drop in numbers. In February, the 78th Golden Globes saw its rankings plunge by 64 percent, which is a 13-year low.

Following that embarrassing drop in viewership, two weeks later on March 15, Hollywood publicists joined forces with representatives from Time’s Up and Color of Change to attack the HFPA. They sent out a scathing letter that was signed by more than 100 firms who vowed to boycott HFPA events if it didn’t immediately “reform.” Weeks later, HFPA member and former president Philip Berk declared that Black Lives Matter was a “racist hate movement” and that was unsurprisingly leaked to the media. Berk was booted but by then, blood was in the water. The HFPA’s recently hired crisis communications firm and its diversity consultant both publicly quit in protest.

Hollywood has lost its patience with HFPA: “They put one foot in the grave,” remarked an industry insider, according to WWD. “If you’re saying it’s going to take 18 months, it became a fait accompli because what is that interim Globes supposed to look like and who’s going to show up for that show?”

For their part, HFPA is now groveling for forgiveness and redemption by genuflecting before the Hollywood elite. In a statement released on Monday, the organization tried to save itself: “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.”

Hollywood, known for its loud proclamations, has so far only sounded crickets on HFPA’s mea culpa.

Conservatives welcomed the organization’s downfall:

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