On Sunday, hosts Tina Fey and Amy Poehler kicked off the 78th Hunger Games … er, the 2021 Golden Globes with a monologue that poked fun at everything from indoor dining to Emily in Paris to whether this all could have been an email. The most pointed edge of their satisfyingly acerbic opener, however, was saved for Globes’ organizing body the Hollywood Foreign Press for having zero Black members. Quipped the pair, “The HFPA is made up of around 90 international (no Black) journalists, who travel to movie junkets each year in search of a better life. We say around 90, because a couple of them might be ghosts.†They also joked about the 87-member HFPA’s love of Pixar’s Soul: “Soul is a beautiful Pixar animated movie where a middle-aged Black man’s soul accidentally gets knocked out of his body and into a cat,†says Fey. “The HFPA really responded to this movie, because they do have five cat members.â€
The pair closed out their opener with a sincere plea to the Hollywood Foreign Press to address their lack of diversity. “This is probably something we should have told you guys earlier; everybody is understandably upset at the HFPA and their choices,†Poehler says. “Look, a lot of flashy garbage got nominated, but that happens. That’s, like, their thing. But a number of Black actors and Black-lead projects were overlooked.â€
“Even with stupid things, inclusivity is important, and there are no Black members of the Hollywood Foreign Press,†Fey explains. “I realize, HFPA, maybe you didn’t get the memo, because your work place is the back booth of a French McDonald’s, but you gotta change that, so here’s to changing that.†Concluded the pair, “So let’s see what these European weirdos nominated this year!â€
Later in the show, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association itself addressed the controversy through three members, Helen Hoehne, Meher Tatna, and Ali Sar, who took the Golden Globes stage for a mea culpa. “Tonight, while we celebrate the work of artists from around the globe, we recognize we have our own work to do,†says Hoehne. “Just like in film and television, Black representation is vital. We must have Black journalists in our organization.â€