Mere days ahead of their big award show, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association is addressing the recent L.A. Times report which revealed that the group of 87 foreign journalists responsible for nominating and doling out the Golden Globes currently has zero Black members. That’s right. Zero out of 87. Per The Hollywood Reporter, the HFPA vowed to do better ahead of the 78th Golden Globe Awards, which famously snubbed Black-starring, Black-centric television programs like I May Destroy You and Insecure in favor of, well, lighter, more European fare. “We are fully committed to ensuring our membership is reflective of the communities around the world who love film, TV, and the artists inspiring and educating them,†said the HFPA in a statement to the Times.
Along with their glaring race problem, the HFPA also received received a fare amount of backlash after the same L.A Times investigation revealed that Paramount Network treated over 30 Golden Globe voters to a lavish set visit in 2019 for future Golden Globe–nominated comedy Emily in Paris. The HFPA apparently didn’t have time to address that coincidence in their statement to the Times, choosing instead to focus exclusively on their glaring race problem. “We understand that we need to bring in Black members,†continued the HFPA’s statement, “as well as members from other underrepresented backgrounds, and we will immediately work to implement an action plan to achieve these goals as soon as possible.â€
Merci beaucoup, HFPA, but we’ll believe it when we see it.