The Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the group that votes on the Golden Globes, has zero Black members.
Tina Fey and Amy Poehler Just Called Out the Golden Globes' Lack of Black Voters
“The Hollywood Foreign Press Association is made up of about 90 international no-Black journalists,” co-host Tina Fey quipped in the opening monologue at the Golden Globes on Sunday, February 28.
It's true—there are 87 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the group of international journalists responsible for giving out Golden Globes. Not one of them is Black. In fact, Variety notes, the HFPA hasn't had a Black member for at least 20 years. The consequences of that exclusion is clear: Black creators and performers were snubbed outrageously by the Globes this year. I May Destroy You, Insecure, and Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, resounding critical successes, were passed over in major categories.
“Everyone is understandably upset with the HFPA and their choices,” co-host Amy Poehler said during the opening monologue, joking that the HFPA is a notoriously frivolous award show. But she added, more seriously, “A number of Black led actors and products were overlooked.” Fey continued, “Even with stupid things, inclusivity is important. And there are no Black members of the HFPA. You gotta change that.”
It's an important point that filmmaker Ava DuVernay expanded upon on Twitter. “To be clear, pressure applied to the Globes and its partners from now on isn’t about validation,” she wrote, in a statement posted just hours before the Globes.
https://twitter.com/ava/status/1366183977438957570“The truth that’s not often discussed is that awards play a part in the economic reality of Black filmmakers, artists of color, and women creators in this business.” It's hopeful to see that the first two winners of the night are fabulously talented Black actors—Daniel Kaluuya and John Boyega.
The #OscarsSoWhite push started five years ago. A public reckoning with racism has been shaking the world since the killing of George Floyd over the summer. And yet looking at the membership of the HFPA, it's like none of that ever happened. Parts of mainstream Hollywood have avoided even the bare minimum when it comes to bringing about equity and fair representation. In a statement to the L.A. Times, which recently reported on alleged corruption within the association, the HFPA wrote, "We understand that we need to bring in Black members 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.”
Advertisement“There are nuances, as an organization of immigrants, who write for our home country, that search [for international Black journalists] has not been easy, but that doesn’t mean we will give up," former HFPA president Meher Tatna told Variety, of the controversy. “We will keep trying, and we will be part of the solution.” That explanation doesn't make much sense. It's not just hard to believe that there are few Black critics outside of America, the LA Times reports that “relatively few [members of the HFPA] work full time for major overseas outlets.”
Fey and Poehler join a number of groups calling out the HFPA. Time's Up, the women-led celebrity justice organization that was founded at the height of the #MeToo movement, called out the HFPA days before the Globes, calling for a deep and systemic change in Association. “Hollywood Foreign Press Association: Not a Single Black Member Out of 87,” reads a graphic on Time's Up social media accounts, boosted by performers including Kerry Washington and Amber Tamblyn.
https://twitter.com/kerrywashington/status/1365462629418893313SAG-AFTRA, the union that comprises screen and radio performers, also put out a statement calling out the Globes. “It's a big, diverse world and if the HFPA is to remain relevant in today’s media environment, it must fully embrace inclusion among its membership and across its operations,” their statement read.
Jenny Singer is a staff writer for Glamour. You can follow her on Twitter.
This story originally appeared on: Glamour - Author:Jenny Singer
